The Last Firefly
by theSeacopath
Summary: This story follows the adventures of Raziel Tyler and the crew of the Darkstar. This is a new and improved version of TLF. I don't own anything except my OCs. Credit for the Verse and all the other stuff in it goes to Joss Whedon, obviously. Enjoy. -the Seacopath
1. Prologue: Mistakes Made

**The Last Firefly**

 **Prologue: Mistakes Made**

 _Capital City, Ariel, White Sun – Three years Pre-War_

"I'm leaving, and there's nothing you can do about it." Raziel Tyler shouldered the bag containing all his money and belongings left in the 'Verse, and faced his parents. Sylvia Tyler, Raziel's mother, just stood by the house's grand staircase, holding a handkerchief to her face, as she wept silently. Raziel's brother and two sisters, Amenadiel, Puriel and Shoftiel, stood by their mother. Raziel's father, James Tyler, stared Raziel down, bitter disappointment in his eyes.

"If you walk out that door, you will never be welcome back in," he said menacingly. "And if you do come back…"

"You'll what?" snapped Raziel savagely. "You'll kill me, just like those people on Shadow you put to death with nothing more than your gorram signature?" Raziel spat at his father's feet, and turned on his heel. "When I come back, because I will, I'll be a better man than you ever were, and you will be asking for my mercy." Opening the door, he gave his parents and siblings one last look. "And if you want to kill me, have the balls to do it yourself."

The mansion's front door shut with a resounding boom, as Raziel Tyler walked away to start his new life.

 _The Nine-Tails Bar, Corinne, Whitefall, Athens, Georgia System_

"I still can't believe we knocked over an entire Alliance castle using nothing more than a single cherry bomb and a piece of string!" Raziel cackled, as Southunder spit his drink all over the bar from laughing. Southunder clapped Raziel on the back with his enormous robotic arm, and heaved himself off his stool. Standing over eight feet tall, Southunder cut an extremely menacing figure. A heavy robotic arm, red cybernetic eye, intricate tattoos, and many guns and knives in holsters over his entire outfit completed Southunder's badass look. And his rank as a Commando cemented Southunder's badass reputation. As Raziel watched amusedly, Southunder strode slightly unsteadily towards the bar, grabbed a bottle of whisky, and raised it high. "An' I say all those purple-belly cowards can get FUCKED!" he roared at the top of his voice.

The bar full of Independent soldiers broke into raucous cheering, but Southunder wasn't finished. "We gave those _zen me jiu_ (motherfuckers) what for!"

The cheering intensified. People had jumped up on tables and were whooping and hollering at the sky. "And we showed them!" Southunder roared. "That we'll never be under their heels again! Because we are proud! Because we are Independent! BECAUSE WE ARE FREE!"

At his words, the bar erupted in cheers and roars. In the midst of it all, Raziel raised his glass to Southunder. After the cheering had finally died down, Raziel glimpsed an Independent Lieutenant entering the room.

"We have a new assignment," he informed the pilots and gunners. "We've been requested to provide air support at Serenity Valley."

 _Serenity Valley, Hera, Georgia_

The firestorm was devastating. Ships of all sizes and armaments careened through the sky over Serenity Valley, dealing death and destruction to Alliance and Independents, ships and soldiers alike. Raziel gritted his teeth and wrenched on the controls of his little skiff, blasting past a larger Alliance fighter that was hammering an Independent Medical ship. As Raziel thought he'd wasted the maneuver, the fighter changed course and whipped around, coming for him.

"He's on us, Archangel!" came the shout from Raziel's navigator. Monty, an enormous bear of a man with a beard to make a Viking envious, swiveled his seat around. Monty jumped up and buckled himself into the skiff's turret, pushing the dead gunner out of the way. Monty opened fire on the Alliance fighter, hammering shell after shell into its armored flanks. Meanwhile, Raziel expertly weaved the little skiff between ships and around the many rock formations of the valley, hammering the Alliance soldiers with withering fire from the skiff's forward guns.

" _Ta ma de_ ," (fuck!) Monty shouted, falling back in the gunner's seat as the skiff shook. "Bastard just took out our rear gun!"

Raziel hissed, rolling the skiff to avoid a shell sent skyward by an alliance tank. "I got an idea. Strap in, Monty."

With that, Raziel hauled back on the controls. The little skiff powered into the air until the engines couldn't carry the craft any more. As they started to fall, Raziel flipped the skiff over and leaned hard on the trigger. The skiff's forward cannons roared to life, puncturing the Alliance fighter's cockpit. The pilot convulsed and died, but not before firing a missile at the skiff.

The missile streaked upward and impacted. The skiff shook as one of its engines was torn apart. Their descent continued. The valley floor loomed up, pitiless to the stricken craft. Raziel and Monty yanked hard on their ejection levers. Twin lances of fire blasted out of the craft's cockpit, as the skiff crashed down on top of an Alliance tank. Raziel picked himself out of the wreckage of his ejection seat and looked up at the sky. His eyes widened. An entire ship was flying at him, smoking and burning like the devil's chariot.

"Gorram it!" Raziel shouted, falling back against a mound of dirt and bodies of purple-bellies, as a flaming Alliance Attack Shuttle roared overhead, crashing into the gun turret whose occupant had brought the shuttle down. His shout caused an Alliance soldier to pop his head over an embankment, only to have it shot off by Raziel's fellow browncoat.

Monty grabbed Raziel's _pigu_ (ass) out of the dirt, and dragged him over to a sheltered cave. "Gorram it, Archangel, what the hell was you thinking?" Monty growled, his soup-catcher bristling with a life of its own. "Air support's fixin' to shoot through and put the whoopin' on these purple-belly _hun dans_ (bastards). Ain't no way I'd be stickin' my head out there just yet!"

A minute passed, while Raziel shook his head to clear the ringing from the explosion out of his ears, but there wasn't much relief to be had. Instead, glancing out of the cave mouth, Raziel slowly stood up and looked out of the cave in horror.

Serenity Valley had become a bloodbath. Instead of the promised Independent air support, Alliance cruisers had descended into atmo, and were raining death and hellfire on the browncoats. As Raziel watched, openmouthed, a bullet smashed into his shoulder, and as he collapsed, a fallen rifle caught his head, and blackness descended.

 _Author's Notes:  
_

 _Hi everyone. It's the Seacopath._

 _In case any of you were wondering why I deleted the previous version of The Last Firefly, it's because I didn't like the way the story was going any more. I was paying too much attention to smaller events, and as a result, the overall story arc suffered, and wasn't really going anywhere._

 _Another thing I noticed was that everything was set up a little too conveniently. I got a few comments along the lines of 'Seacopath, you made everything too easy for the crew.'_

 _So, here comes another try. The prologue is the same as before, but a whole new and improved adventure awaits afterwards. There will be more drama, more action, more adventure, more angst, more tears, more hardships, and more awesomeness._

 _Thanks for being patient while I struggled with writer's block, and I look forward to all my readers joining me for another trip through the amazing 'Verse._

 _Come with me on the journey.  
_

 _-the Seacopath_


	2. Chapter 1: The Contest

**Chapter 1: The Contest**

 _Hera, Georgia_

 _Song: Great Big Sea – "Banks of Newfoundland"  
_ Raziel Tyler splashed some water on his face and stood up, looking at himself in the mirror above the fold-out sink in his quarters aboard Monty's ship, the _Bridget_. Raziel frowned and tightened one of the leather cords holding his bright blue Viking braid in place. In contrast to the deep blue of his hair, his silver eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. Raziel turned and shrugged on his shirt as a voice echoed from the _Bridget_ 's intercom. " _Attention all crew, we've landed on Hera._ "  
Raziel sighed and took one last look at his now-empty quarters, before picking up his bag and walking to the cargo bay.

The cargo ramp clanged to the surface of the landing pad. Raziel descended the ramp of the _Bridget_ , and took a deep breath of, if not fresh, at least unprocessed air. Bex Grant stepped up beside Raziel, carrying her own small bag of belongings. "Any idea where we're going, Raziel?"  
"I gots an inkling," Raziel replied. "First we need to find a ship to buy, and then I know a guy who can join up with us."  
"Tyler!" came a shout from the rear of the _Bridget_ 's cargo bay. Monty jumped down the steps and landed on the grating with a resounding _boom_. The sasquatch of a man stepped up to Raziel, and enveloped him in a huge bear hug.

"I should be callin' this mutiny," Monty choked. "You're leavin' the boat, and takin' a gorram good comrade with ya."  
"You know I wanted this, Monty," Raziel replied after he got his breath back. "you said you taught me everythin' you could, so I wanna have a go on my own."  
"Fair's fair," Monty shook his head and passed over two bags of coin. "Here are your shares from all our adventures, you two. Now get outta here. It ain't manly for a crew to see their boss' eyes sweatin'."  
"Thanks, Monty," Raziel and Bex nodded. Monty turned and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn as the _Bridget_ 's ramp closed.  
"Let's find us a ship," Bex smiled.

 _Two hours later…_

"Ugh," Bex grumbled as she sank into her seat in the dingy bar. "How come all the good ships are either too expensive or already sold?"  
"We just need to keep lookin'," Raziel said calmly, his blue braid just visible over the top of a shipyard catalog. "Somethin's bound to turn up if…" he fell silent.  
"What is it?" Bex asked. Raziel passed over the catalog and showed Bex an advertisement.  
" _Come test your mettle against the Excalibur of starships!_ " the advertisement proclaimed in bright red Chinese script.  
"What does that mean?" Bex asked, confused.  
"Raziel pointed to the smaller script at the bottom of the ad. "Apparently, a shipyard has a ship in stock that no one can open, or even get near. It's been sittin' there for years, like the sword from that Earth-That-Was legend. And it says here, if'n anyone can crack it open, they can have the ship for nothin'! Should we give it a go?"  
A free ship?" Bex's eyebrow perked up. "Can't hurt to try, right?"

Bex and Raziel walked up to the gates of the shipyard, where an attendant sat in a booth.  
"Afternoon, _pengyou_ (friend)," Raziel nodded. "We're here to have a go at the unbreakable ship."  
"Take a number," the attendant replied in a bored voice. Next to the booth, a small machine spat out a slip of flimsi. Raziel followed Bex through the gates, and stopped short. A line of people stretched from the gate to a hill, where a starship rested on a slab of concrete.  
"Gorram," Bex breathed. "It's a Firefly."  
The Firefly was beautiful. Its hull was painted a shade of black so dark, it seemed to suck in the light around itself. The main engine on the Firefly's stern glowed, not the soft yellow common on Fireflies, but cold blue.  
" _Niubi_ (fucking awesome)," Raziel grinned, before he looked down.

The ground around the ship resembled Swiss cheese. Countless bullet holes were interspersed with small craters, and the concrete was stained red in places. As Raziel and Bex watched, a large man at the front of the line charged forward, holding a thick slab of steel as a shield. The ship seemed to wake up with a roar, and a line of bullets tore through the air towards the shield-bearer.  
" _Wo cao_ (holy fuck)!" Raziel exclaimed. "That ain't a Firefly, that's a gorram Cerberus!"  
The challenger's slab of steel shuddered as shot after shot hit it.  
"That _baichi_ (moron) ain't gonna make it," Bex shook her head. "Those bullets are gonna eat through that shield in a matter of-"  
Before Bex had even finished speaking, a fountain of red erupted, and the man with the shield fell to the ground, his chest ruined. A second later, a medical drone hovered down and lifted the unfortunate man in a large clamp.

"How the hell are we gonna beat that?" Bex asked worriedly.  
Raziel bit his lip in thought. "There's two of us, so we could split the ship's attention. All we need to do is get to that palm-print reader on the door. Look."  
Raziel pointed to the Cerberus' cargo door. In a small crescent, the concrete remained unmarked by bullets or shells. As Raziel and Bex planned, the line slowly moved forward, with challengers either getting shot or running off.  
One man actually managed to make it past the ship's chain guns, but strayed too close to the wing. A split second later, an honest-to-Buddha _rocket_ streaked out from under the ship's wing, carrying the poor man into the sky before detonating.

Soon, Raziel and Bex stood at the front of the line. The Cerberus seemed to bristle with murderous intent.  
"Take your time," a man grunted, standing behind Raziel in line. "You're gonna die either way."  
"Okay," Raziel whispered to Bex. "We need to get past those chain guns fast, so I'll need that pressure pack over there. You need to distract the ship."  
Bex nodded, and unclipped a pair of smoke bombs from her belt. Raziel grabbed a firefighter's backpack marked _high pressure_ from an emergency locker, and strapped himself in. the crowd began to get restless. "Let's move it, _baichi_!" the heckler from earlier shouted.  
"Fine!" Raziel yelled, facing the crowd with his back to the ship. "But y'all better clear out now, cause I'm takin' that ship!" With that, Raziel pressed the trigger on the pressure pack as Bex threw the smoke bombs.

The hose in Raziel's hands roared to life, propelling him backwards at a phenomenal rate. As he flew towards the ship, Raziel tucked his feet in as a line of bullets ate up the concrete where he'd been a second ago. The ship was blinded by the smoke, and started firing wildly, causing the crowd to scatter and find cover. Bex stalked around the fringes of the smoke cloud, daring the ship to make a move.  
Meanwhile, Raziel crashed backwards into the ship's shiny black hull, the backpack he wore taking the brunt of the hit. Raziel threw the pack to the ground and stepped towards the hull, inside the untouched circle of landing pad that the chain guns couldn't reach. Just then, a whine started up, and the fog began to clear.

"Oh _gou se_ (shit)," Raziel swore, just as the ship took off. Raziel took a flying leap, and managed to grab hold of the bottom edge of the ship's hull just as the landing legs left the ground. On the ground, a collective gasp went up as the Cerberus rose into the sky. "Raziel," Bex breathed.  
The palm scanner glowed blue, tantalizingly out of reach, as Raziel swung in the air, holding onto the edge of the hull. With a grunt, Raziel hauled himself up to a handhold and grabbed a cable. The ship shuddered in midair, trying to throw off the blue-haired speck clinging to her hull, but Raziel hung on grimly, gritting his teeth. Another few pulls, and the palm scanner was within reach. All of a sudden, the Cerberus executed a barrel roll, pulling Raziel's legs away from the hull. Left hanging on by one hand, Raziel roared with primal fury as he finally slammed his hand against the scanner's glowing blue grid.

The Cerberus froze in midair for a few seconds. Raziel's legs scrabbled against the hull, until he felt his boots hit a raised edge of metal, and he clung to the scanner's housing for dear life. A second later, with a hiss of air, the ship's cargo door finally opened. The door descended, until the ramp was level with Raziel's boots. Gingerly, Raziel stretched out one foot, until it touched the ramp. The ship seemed to wait patiently as Raziel inched along the hull until he finally collapsed on the ramp, breathing hard. Raziel dragged himself farther inside, and the Cerberus began to descend. By the time solid ground approached, Raziel had recovered enough to stand. The ship's landing legs thumped to the concrete, and the cargo door descended again. Raziel stepped forward and raised his arms in triumph.

The assembled crowd set off to spread the word. Raziel walked down the Cerberus' cargo ramp, until his knees gave out and he sat heavily on the concrete. Bex stepped up, casting a shadow over Raziel.  
"Don't you _EVER_ do anythin' that crazy ever again!" she shouted, smacking Raziel hard across the face. Raziel sat there in shock for a few seconds before he started laughing.  
"What's so gorram funny?" Bex snapped, raising her hand again.  
Raziel tried to catch his breath. "I'm alive," he chuckled. "I'm alive and we got ourselves a ruttin _huaidan_ (badass) ship." He paused a moment, and started laughing again. "And put it this way, we know she ain't gonna ever get stolen!"  
Bex's eyes widened before she doubled over laughing as well. A few minutes later, the two spacers finally calmed down enough to breathe.

"Right," Raziel grinned. "We gots a ship, now let's see about some crew."

 _Author's Notes:  
Here we go! Off to a pretty good start, I hope. If it was great, write a review saying so. If it was awful, write a review saying so. I need feedback!  
The first few chapters aren't going to be attached to the main story arc. They're mostly going to be meeting the crew, and setting up the big story. The crew will be the same, but their stories will not. I'm not giving anything away just yet though.  
-the Seacopath_


	3. Chapter 2: The First Job

**Chapter 2: The First Job**

 _Author's Notes:  
Another chapter, fresh off the presses. Have a guess who's coming on board for this one._

Raziel and Bex clinked their glasses together as they sat in their booth at the bar. For the past three hours, folks had been coming by, offering words of congratulations and free drinks in equal measure. Just then, a man strode up and stretched out his hand to Raziel. "I'd like to thank you, boy," he nodded. "I'm Sal Hancock, and I own the shipyard in this town."  
"Raziel Tyler," Raziel cautiously shook Hancock's hand. "Why are you thankin' us?" he asked curiously.  
Hancock chuckled. "That ship was the main attraction in my yard, but it scared every other customer away. Now I can start attracting real business again."

"Sounds like my good deed for the day," Raziel smirked. "Speakin' of, you wouldn't happen to have any cargo jobs need doin', by any chance?"  
Hancock took a small notebook from his pocket and flipped through it. "As a matter of fact, a business associate of mine needs some farm equipment taken to a ranch in Alice-Town, a few miles west of here. Folks round those parts always got livestock and produce to move, too."  
" _Xiexie pengyou_ (thanks, friend)," Raziel grinned before turning to Bex. "Looks like we gots a place to be."

 _Two hours later…_

 _Song: Sting – "The Last Ship"  
_ " _Niubi_ ," Raziel grinned as he revolved on the spot in the Cerberus' bridge.  
Bex rolled her eyes from where she leaned against the bridge doorframe. "Will ya stop sayin' that already, Cap'n? We gots a delivery to make." At the moment, several tons of farm machinery was almost done being stacked in the cargo hold by dock workers.  
"Sorry Bex, didn't mean to enjoy the moment," Raziel _humph_ ed, sitting in the pilot's chair. After a second, he looked over his shoulder. "You gonna sit down? The gunner's chair is yours if'n you want it."  
Bex sat in the gunner's chair and ran her eyes over the array of screens, buttons and dials in front of her.

Raziel took a deep breath and plugged in the Firefly's starter chip. The controls and dials blinked into life and the ship rumbled as her engines cycled up.  
"Wait!" Bex called. "Before we fly this ship, we need to give her a name!"  
"She's already got one," Raziel replied with a smile. "And it's pretty _huaidan_ , if'n you ask me."  
Bex looked at Raziel expectantly. "Well?"  
Raziel looked at the name that was flashing on his console's main screen. "She's the _Darkstar_."  
" _Darkstar_ ," Bex mused. "I like the sound of that."  
Raziel nodded and adjusted the throttle. The _Darkstar_ rose gracefully into the air, retracted her landing legs, and pointed her engines ahead. The Firefly soared over the shipyard that had been her home for years, and at the controls, Raziel smiled to himself. " _Watch out, 'Verse; here we come_."

 _Song: Stephen – "Start a Fire" ft. In-Q  
_ The _Darkstar_ soared over Hera's fields, lightly buffeted by the wind. In the pilot's seat, Raziel muttered to himself, deep in thought.  
" _You're not going through it; it's going through you. And once it's all gone, you become the new you; with a different perspective on the same point of view; fully unaffected by the old truth you once knew. Connected at the roots, to the trunk, to the branches; to the leaves and the way they fly away in wind dances. A frantic see-saw free-fall in midair that represents the floating folly of us all being here; we are complicated creatures, huh?"  
_ "What's that mean?" Bex asked from beside Raziel.

"It's somethin' my teacher once told me," Raziel said quietly. "She said it was somethin' she thought about me."  
Bex tilted her head. "How?"  
Raziel set the autopilot and leaned his head back. "It's about the hardships I went through; leavin' my family, joinin' the War, and learnin' to stand on my own."  
Raziel made his fingers and thumbs into the shape of a circle. "Livin' on Ariel, in the heart of Alliance Territory, I was really livin' in a little bubble. I only really knew what the Alliance told its citizens; that the Browncoats were evil, and that the Alliance was the only true civilization."  
As he spoke, Raziel began rotating his wrists. "But after everythin' that happened, I got a new perspective." Raziel's fingers now formed a square. "I saw there was a different side to everythin'. And the particulars of a flag didn't matter, cause we're all humans. It don't matter what banner you stand under, just whether or not it's bein' flown for the right reasons."

"That was real pretty, Cap'n," Bex nodded.  
Raziel shrugged. "Just happy to be here, under nobody's flag but my own now."  
A _ping_ from the console drew Bex's attention. "Speakin' of flags, we're comin' up to Alice-Town's right now."  
Raziel sat up and grabbed the controls, preparing to bring the ship in for a landing. Bex hailed Alice-Town's landing tower.  
"Alice-Town Port Control, this is Firefly Transport _Darkstar_ requesting permission to land. We have a cargo needs delivering to one Robert Bryson Hall, over."

A second later, Port Control responded. " _Firefly Transport Darkstar, you are cleared for landing on Pad three, over._ "  
Raziel pushed forward on the controls and the _Darkstar_ descended to the landing pad, settling down with a small bump. Raziel yanked the starter chip from its socket and left the bridge.  
"Where are you going?" Bex called.  
Raziel shouted back. "To find some crew!"

Raziel wandered down Alice-Town's main street as the streetlights began to light up, scanning the shop fronts until he found what he was looking for.  
Pushing open the saloon door, Raziel was confronted with a thick cloud of cigarette smoke and a crowd of brawling people. The entire saloon was heaving to and fro as people punched, kicked, bit and fought like there was no tomorrow. Raziel ducked as a bottle whizzed over his head. As he straightened up, he felt a searing pain on the back of his head, and collapsed straight to the floor.

Some time later, Raziel awoke to the sounds of vomiting and cursing. Dimly, he realized that he was locked in a jail cell. Raziel rolled to a sitting position and hauled himself off the narrow cot he'd been lying on. "Hey!" he shouted. "The fuck's goin' on here?"  
At his shout, a man dressed in all brown stomped loudly into the jail. All the people suffering from hangovers clutched their ears as the cop planted his boots in front of Raziel's cell.  
"Look who's awake!" the man practically shouted.  
Raziel scowled. "Yeah, I'm awake, and I wanna know why some _si piyan_ (damned asshole) clocked me over the head with a gorram club!"

The cop tilted his head. "You do know the concept of a bar-room brawl, right?" he asked.  
"I was in there for ten seconds," Raziel scowled. "I ain't drunk, and I didn't even throw one gorram punch!"  
The cop paused and examined Raziel's eyes. "Right," he said slowly after a second. "I think my officers may have been a bit…overzealous."  
"Gorram straight," Raziel grumped. "Now let me outta here, so I can finish the delivery I was supposed to make by now."  
Raziel stomped out of the cell as soon as the door opened, and grabbed his Cortex unit and the _Darkstar_ 's starter chip from where they lay on a table full of confiscated items.

A second later, Raziel froze. Lying on the table was a mechanical arm the size of an elephant's leg. Raziel ran back into the jail, and stopped in front of a cell. Behind the bars was an enormous man with a massive beard, a mechanical eye and only one arm.  
"Southunder?" Raziel gaped in astonishment. The other man shook his head and looked up at the bars, before his face split into a wide grin. "Hey, Raziel. Long time, no see, huh?"  
At that moment, the sheriff stormed in. "Southunder!" he shouted. "Your pops just paid your bail money. Get outta here."  
Southunder hauled himself to his feet and promptly fell against the bars, bending them outwards. The big cyborg leaned down and awkwardly maneuvered himself through the cell door and out into the morning sun.

"Hey, wait!" Raziel called, running to catch up with Southunder. "What happened to you?"  
Southunder grabbed his mechanical arm off the table. "Been workin' on my family's ranch since the War ended. What about you?"  
Raziel fell into step beside Southunder. "I just got a new ship, and I need some crew. Have to say, I wasn't expectin' to run into you though," he chuckled.  
"Wait," Southunder paused. "You're hiring crew?"  
Raziel nodded. Southunder began walking again. "You mind if I come with y'all?"  
This time it was Raziel who stopped mid-step. "Seriously? Just like that?"  
" _Shi a_ (yes)," Southunder nodded. "I been lookin' for an excuse to get off this planet for a while now, but no one wants to take me, on account of my…status."  
What status?" Raziel asked.  
Southunder walked back into the saloon, looking over his shoulder. "Go on the Cortex and search my name."

 _Song: Trace Adkins – "Ladies Love Country Boys"  
_ Back on the ship, Raziel ducked a flying wrench sent across the cargo bay by Bex. "Where the bloody hell have you been?" she yelled angrily.  
"It's a long story," Raziel sighed. "Did you sell the cargo?"  
Bex crossed her arms and tapped her foot as Raziel ascended the steps. "Look around, genius," she grumbled, gesturing to the empty cargo bay.  
"Good," Raziel snapped, massaging the huge lump on his head. "And for your information, I got knocked out by a club-happy cop that thought I was part of a bar fight, woke up in jail, and met an old war buddy who wants to join up with us, but I don't know if'n I should let him cause he said to search his name on the Cortex and that's all kinds of suspicious and shady."  
Bex stared as Raziel disappeared up the stairs towards the bridge. "Forget I asked," she whistled.

Raziel sat in the pilot's chair and typed _Jonathon Southunder_ into the Cortex search engine, Lougle.  
A second later, a clearly old picture of Southunder's face flashed up on screen, followed by a _lengthy_ criminal record.  
" _Jonathon Southunder_ ," the screen read. " _Wanted for:  
Assault,  
Homicide,  
Kidnapping,  
Grand Larceny,  
Robbery,  
Illegal Mercenary Activity,  
Piracy,  
Smuggling,  
Tariff Dodging,  
Massive Property Damage,  
War Crimes,  
Jaywalking_."  
Raziel sat back in his chair. "Wow," he nodded. "He's been busy." Raziel returned his attention to the screen.  
" _Status unknown_ ," the bulletin continued. " _Location unknown. Threat Level Red. Suspect is classified as Armed and Extremely Dangerous. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPREHEND, but call your nearest Federal Marshal outpost IMMEDIATELY. A message from Blue Sun Legal Division._ "

" _Wo cao_ ," Bex breathed from over Raziel's shoulder. "You fought with this guy?"  
Raziel nodded. "Yup, and thank Buddha I didn't have to fight against him. I once saw an Alliance tank unit stop in their tracks and back up at full speed when Southunder pointed at them to say 'you're next'."  
"And you think _this guy_ should join up with us?" Bex asked, astonished.  
"Yup." Raziel grinned. "He plays a mean game of poker."  
Bex stormed out. "We are _not_ hiring that lunatic!"  
After Bex left, Raziel picked up his Cortex unit and dialed. "Southunder, I've had a talk with my first mate, and you're in."

Back in town, Raziel and Southunder laughed as they drank together at a table in the saloon.  
"Aw man, that's priceless," Raziel chuckled. "I can't believe he could ever look at a plate of noodles again after that."  
Southunder nodded, grinning widely. "And I wish I'd been there to see that whoopin' you gave Calhoun."  
Across the bar, patrons were throwing impressed and horrified looks at Raziel and Southunder in equal measure. Even the bartender had stopped wiping the counter to listen in.  
"Anyway," Southunder finished his beer. "You said you needed some work?"  
Raziel nodded. "Yeah. No sense breakin' atmo without some shiny cargo in our hold."  
Southunder flipped his glass over on the table. "Then come down to my family's ranch. I gotta grab my stuff anyway, and Pa's always got work for folk."

 _Southunder Homestead_

The _Darkstar_ touched down on the Southunder homestead, her jet wash sending rows of corn swaying. Southunder disembarked, followed by Raziel and a thoroughly pissed off Bex. Southunder led Raziel and Bex to the front door of an enormous farmhouse, just as it swung open.

Southunder stood eight feet tall, but his father was another full foot taller. Raziel had to crane his neck as Pa Southunder stepped outside.  
Pa looked down at his son. "So," he rumbled in a voice like thunder. "This the man you said you were shippin' out with?"

Raziel stepped forward and held out his hand. "Raziel Tyler," he said politely. Pa reached down and shook, completely swallowing Raziel's hand in his enormous paw. "Make sure he gets home safe, you hear?"  
Raziel nodded and winced as the bones in his hand grated together. Pa released the handshake and turned his head back into the house. "MA!" he roared, rattling the windows. "Jonny's leavin'!"  
A second later, a woman who could only be Southunder's mother rushed down the hall, a rolling pin in hand. She ran outside and crashed into Southunder, wrapping him in a tight hug.

"Ma," Southunder managed, "I'll be back soon, all right?"  
"You better be," Ma said sternly, brandishing the rolling pin and turning to Raziel. "And you make sure to stop by soon, you hear?"  
Raziel nodded nervously. Meanwhile, Southunder headed inside and returned a minute later carrying a huge suitcase. "What?" he asked, as everyone gave him a strange look. "Been tryin' to leave for a while, so I might as well stay packed."  
"Can't argue with that," Pa nodded. "Come on in, Mister Tyler. Let's discuss some jobs, huh?"  
An hour later, the _Darkstar_ was on her way to Beaumonde, cargo hold stuffed with fresh vegetables in cryo boxes. In the pilot's chair, Raziel set the autopilot and relaxed.  
"Good day," he grinned.

 _Author's Notes:  
Southunder! Enough said.  
How many of you can spot the two little references I snuck in there? I'll post the answers in the next chapter  
Next chapter's coming soon.  
-the Seacopath_


	4. Chapter 3: Beaumonde's Underbelly

**Chapter 3: Beaumonde's Underbelly**

 _Song: Rascal Flatts – "Life is a Highway"  
_ The _Darkstar_ soared through space, engines glowing blue. In the galley, Southunder munched on an apple and cleaned his mechanical arm. Bex read a book in her bunk, still annoyed at Raziel. Meanwhile, Raziel strolled through the _Darkstar_ 's corridors, listening to music on the Cortex and familiarizing himself with the ship's layout. Closing the door to the medical bay, Raziel turned to find a small nook, the perfect size for a couch and a huge TV. With a grin, Raziel hopped up a set of steps into the cargo bay. Raziel grabbed a pear from a cryo box and took a bite, just as the ship shook.

 _Song: Aperture Science Psychoacoustics Laboratory – "The Courtesy Call"  
_ Raziel spat out the fruit and ran up the steps to the bridge. Bex was already there, in the gunner's chair. Southunder followed Raziel through the bridge door and stopped short. Through the viewport, a ship spun, dead in space. The other ship was huge; easily five times the _Darkstar_ 's size. An engine was missing, the debris floating aimlessly in space. The hull was pockmarked and riddled with holes and scorch marks.  
"What could've done that?" Southunder said worriedly.

A second later, Southunder's question was answered. An alarm started blaring, and through the viewport, a small craft detached itself from the stricken vessel's bulk. Even at the distance, the small craft's red paint and spikes were unmistakable.  
 _Song: Aperture Science Psychoacoustics Laboratory – "Science is Fun"_  
"Reavers!" Bex shouted. Raziel catapulted himself into the pilot's chair, disengaged the autopilot and hit the throttle. The _Darkstar_ leapt forward and pointed her nose down in relation to the Reaver craft. Raziel gritted his teeth and hauled back on the controls. The _Darkstar_ leveled out and shot towards the wrecked star liner. A purple flash caught Raziel's eye. One of the liner's engines had briefly fired; probably excess fuel escaping. A few seconds later, the engine fired again. Raziel's eyes narrowed as he timed the pattern and pushed harder on the throttle.

Behind the _Darkstar_ , the Reavers were catching up quickly. Southunder cursed as he watched the craft flash past the rear-view camera. Bex activated the gunner's console and pressed a trigger. On the stern, twin chain guns roared to life, sending tracer fire into the black. Raziel nodded. "Hit em, Bex."  
Southunder pointed forward. "Raziel, any reason we're about to crash into that big-ass ship?"  
"Hold on," Raziel muttered in concentration, as the purple flashes grew larger in the front viewport. Just then, Bex scored a hit on the Reavers, and the pursuing craft shuddered.  
"Perfect!" Raziel grinned. "Hold on!"

As Raziel finished speaking, the _Darkstar_ shot over the lip of the star liner's surviving engine, crossing the massive circular opening. Southunder looked at the screen for the ventral (bottom) camera and gulped as a purple glow began to build up. "Raziel?" he called nervously. Raziel ignored Southunder and gritted his teeth, watching the Reaver craft on the screen. Just as the _Darkstar_ cleared the far edge of the star liner's engine, the purple thruster ignited like an erupting volcano, swallowing the Reavers whole. Raziel eased off the throttle and slumped in his seat, breathing heavily. "That was too close."  
"I'll say!" Bex shouted. "We almost died on our first cargo run!"  
"Gorram Reavers," Southunder growled. "Gettin' cooked alive is too good for them."  
"Let's just get to Beaumonde in one piece," Raziel said, calmer now.

Bex and Southunder sighed in relief, before leaving the bridge. Raziel stayed in the pilot's chair, running a scan on the Firefly's surroundings. When all the readings came up negative, Raziel sighed and relaxed in the chair, nodding off slowly.

 _Three days later…_

Beaumonde blocked out the light of Kalidasa, casting the _Darkstar_ into shadow. On the bridge, Raziel and Bex were deep in conversation.  
"I'm tellin' you," Bex said, frustrated. "There ain't a better place than Beaumonde to find a mechanist. The docks are crammed with them, not to mention the workshop district."  
"And I'm tellin' you," Raziel countered. "I ain't hiring someone off the street. I need someone with connections, and real experience. The last thing we need is some half-wit who'll let this boat fall from the sky cause they don't know _gou se_."  
"Ahem," Southunder broke in from behind them. "I think I can help on that one. I know a guy who probably knows a guy who can help us."  
Raziel and Bex turned to Southunder. "Who?" they asked in unison.

"A guy called Dominic," Southunder replied. "He lives in the outskirts of Capital City."  
Raziel shrugged. "Can't hurt to take a look. We're goin' to Capital City anyhow."  
Bex crossed her arms and nodded gruffly. Raziel got on the radio and hailed Capital City Port Control."  
Soon afterwards, the _Darkstar_ had landed, and Beaumonde's dockyard cargo system was working in the cargo bay, unloading the piles of cryo boxes. Southunder nudged Raziel. "How's about we take a look at some of the action in these streets?"  
"What, whores?" Raziel asked in surprise.  
Southunder shook his head. "Nah, street racing," he grinned.

Southunder led Raziel to a parking garage, where the sound of loud engines could be heard. As the elevator doors opened, Raziel's eyes widened. Every available space was packed with cars. Vicious-looking, streamlined aircars shared space with ground-based dragsters and drifters. Raziel watched openmouthed as a pair of cars drifted around and between the parking lot's concrete pillars. "This is so _niubi_ ," Raziel grinned.

Just then, a commotion started up at the ramp. A second later, a bright orange hover truck coasted to a stop, dragging a beautiful black aircar behind it on a hover trailer. A Chinese man jumped down from the truck and high-fived his friends. "I just got tonight's prize from the chief of police!" the man grinned. "Took it right out of the old fart's driveway."  
"What's it a prize for?" Southunder spoke up. Everyone went silent and looked at the big cyborg. The Chinese man stepped up and climbed onto the hood of a red dragster, looking Southunder in the eye. "It's a prize for the race tonight. You in, or out?"  
Raziel cleared his throat. "I'm in, but I need a car."  
The ringleader snickered. "No car, no racing."  
"Fine," Raziel scowled. "I'll borrow someone's car for a hundred credits."

"Wait a minute," Southunder rumbled, getting the ringleader's attention again. "Is that truck yours?"  
The Chinese man nodded. "You want to buy?"  
Southunder held out a wad of credits. "I'll pay you two thousand for the truck and another five hundred for the trailer."  
The ringleader thought for a moment, and held out his hand. "Done."  
Southunder passed over the money, and took the keys to the truck.  
"Not done yet," the ringleader leered. "You buy my truck, you must win the race. You lose, I take it back, and call the Feds."  
"Fine," Southunder rumbled. "Raziel, looks like you got a race to win."

Raziel climbed into the hover truck's cab and a pretty Asian girl passed him a map of the track. Meanwhile, Southunder detached the hover trailer and hauled it to a quieter corner of the parking lot. A horn sounded, and the vehicles in the race queued up on the start line. Raziel groaned as he saw rocket-boosted drift aircars on all sides, most drivers laughing themselves silly at the sight of the huge orange hover truck.  
 _Song: Cheryl Crow – "Real Gone"  
_ A pretty girl stood in the middle of the track, holding a flag. "Start your engines!" she shouted. Raziel turned the key, and was impressed when the hover truck roared to life with a loud rumble. "On your mark!" On the track, the girl raised her flag, and brought it down. "GO!"

The line of cars exploded into motion. Raziel stomped his foot to the floor, and the orange hover truck leaped forward like a charging bull. The concrete flashed past, as the first turn approached. Raziel stomped on the brakes and wrenched the wheel to the right. The orange truck roared through the corner at almost a 45-degree angle to the ground, its hover jets scorching a line of pillars. Raziel straightened out and pressed the gas down. The truck passed two other aircars before the next corner came up. A hard left later, and another aircar was shrinking in Raziel's rearview mirror. Raziel gritted his teeth. Six other aircars were jostling for first place ahead of him.

Just then, a silver Comet smashed into a blue Leopard. The Leopard spun out and wrapped itself around a pillar, driver-side first. The assembled crowd gasped as the car exploded. Raziel pressed on through a long right-hander, using the truck's big engine to gain on the leaders. The track led up the parking lot's spiraling ramp. Raziel twisted the wheel to the left and the truck roared up the ramp, thrusters scorching the concrete wall as the back end kicked out. On the upper level, Raziel accelerated, catching up to the four leading aircars. A left-hander loomed ahead, and Raziel took the inside line, stomping on the brakes. However, the big truck's weight carried it too far through the corner, and the aircar that had drawn level with Raziel was crushed against the barrier, scraping and sliding along the concrete curve with a noise of tortured metal.

Raziel winced and accelerated, leaving the destroyed aircar in the dust. Two of the other leaders peeled off to the side as Raziel caught up, the drivers clearly not willing to risk their cars. One car remained, its driver sending it sideways to avoid Raziel's front bumper. Raziel stepped on the gas and the truck surged ahead. Suddenly, the truck's side mirror shattered as a bullet hit it. The driver of the other aircar had pulled a pistol and was firing wildly out the window. Raziel ducked and wrenched the wheel to the right. The orange hover truck shuddered through the corner, hover jets turning forward momentum into a right-hand turn. The other aircar driver dropped his pistol and hauled his car through the corner, narrowly missing the barrier.

The ramp approached and Raziel threw the truck to the right, almost sliding sideways back down to the main level, in first place. The ramp dumped Raziel out and he stepped on the gas. The truck's engines howled and Raziel shot through the finish line, coming to a hard stop. As the crowd cheered, Raziel pried his shaking hands away from the wheel and clambered down from the cab. Southunder grabbed Raziel's hand and lifted it into the air as the ringleader stalked over. "Here," he snapped. "Your keys." The man passed over a set of keys marked with the Lockheed-Nissan logo.  
"Sorry I didn't die," Raziel smirked. "Glad I put on a show for you though."  
The Chinese man gritted his teeth. "Fuck off!" he shouted.  
Southunder hooked the hover trailer to the back of the orange truck, with the black aircar on it. Raziel climbed into the shotgun seat, and the pair drove off.

Back at the _Darkstar_ , Bex looked up at the sound of engines. A second later, the orange hover truck and black aircar drove into the cargo bay, and Raziel and Southunder got out.  
"You were right, Southunder," Raziel nodded. "That trailer would never have fit in here."  
"Excuse me!" Bex shouted, flabbergasted. "Where the hell did you get those?"  
"We won them in a race," Southunder shrugged. "Raziel, let's get on the way. I'll show you where Dominic lives."  
A minute later, the _Darkstar_ took off and soared between Beaumonde's huge skyscrapers. Southunder highlighted a location on the navigation computer, and Raziel adjusted the controls.

Some time later, the _Darkstar_ touched down in front of a ramshackle house surrounded on all sides by scrap. A large sign proclaimed the property to be _McCoppin Scrapyard._ Southunder pounded on the door of the house, and it opened a second later. A man with black hair and a soul patch stuck his head out, looked up, and immediately slammed the door. Southunder leaned down. "Come on, Dominic! I ain't mad at you no more!"  
After a moment, Dominic opened the door a crack and peered out at the big cyborg. "What do you want?"  
"Well," Southunder began, "My cap'n needs a mechanist, and I was wonderin' if'n you got anyone workin' here who's keen to travel."

"That's it?" Dominic asked incredulously as he opened the door all the way. "Come on then."  
Dominic led the three spacers to a shed behind the house. "Sol!" he called, shoving the door open. "You got visitors!"  
The blinding glow of a welding torch faded, and a woman turned away from her workbench. She wore armored pants, heavy boots, long leather gloves and a black tank top. Sol pushed up her welding visor, revealing a pale, freckled face, fire-red hair and piercing green eyes.  
"Who are you?" she asked in a kind voice.  
"I'm Raziel Tyler," Raziel began, stepping forward. "I'm captain of the Firefly in the front yard, and I could use a mechanist. Dominic seems to think you're the one for the job."

A look of disbelief came over Sol's face. "Really?" she exclaimed.  
"Um, really," Raziel nodded. Sol turned to Dominic. "Can I go?" she asked excitedly. "Are you gonna be fine here?"  
Dominic waved his hand at Sol. "I got another five people here, I'll be fine," he shrugged.  
Sol wrapped Dominic in a tight hug. "Thanks, Dominic! I've always wanted to sail on a Firefly!"  
Southunder stepped up and held out his mechanical arm. "Think you can take a look at this?" he asked, face turning slightly red.  
Sol grabbed the metal hand and inspected it. "Sure. How about on the ship?" The redheaded mechanist led a grinning Southunder from the workshop.  
Dominic cleared his throat. "You mind gettin' outta here?" he grunted. "Your ship's blockin' my front yard."

Back on board the _Darkstar_ , Sol tinkered with Southunder's hand on the galley table. Raziel walked through the galley towards the bridge. "When you're done here, show Sol to her bunk, Southunder."  
"Where are we headed, Captain?" Southunder turned his head. Raziel grabbed an apple from the bowl on the counter. "Persephone," he replied through a mouthful of fruit. "Got a job from a disreputable gentleman there."

 _Author's Notes:  
Now Sol's joined up.  
And we also have a more detailed explanation of where the two hover cars came from. I was partially inspired by the Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift for that scene.  
Next chapter will be ready soon.  
-the Seacopath_


	5. Chapter 4: Disreputable Gentleman

**Chapter 4: Disreputable Gentleman**

 _Song: Drapht – "Don Quixote"  
_ The _Darkstar_ broke Beaumonde's atmo. In the pilot's seat, Raziel drummed his hands on the Firefly's steering controls.  
" _I'm the d-o-n-c, I live life like you d-o-n-t, and that's why they're filled with e-n-v-y, cause my life is the b-o-m-b._ "  
Raziel engaged Hard Burn and the _Darkstar_ shot forward, leaving behind a huge explosion of blue plasma.  
" _I'm the d-o-n-c, I live life like you d-o-n-t, and that's why they're filled with e-n-v-y, cause my life is the b-o-m-b._ "  
As the song reached the chorus, Southunder stuck his head through the bridge door. " _Don Quixote-oh! Don Quixote-way-oh! Don Quixote-way-oh-oh! See I've been tilting like windmills since I was born, the wind hits my sails and I'm gone! Don Quixote!_ "  
Raziel chuckled at his security officer's antics. "We should be on Persephone in about two days. How's Sol settling in?"

Southunder sat in the gunner's chair. "Sol's already set up a workshop in one of the passenger bunks. I ain't sure what she's workin' on in there, but whatever it is, she's bout to start welding."  
Raziel's eyes widened. " _What_?"  
Just then, the _Darkstar_ 's general alarm activated. Every screen lit up with fire alert icons. Raziel set the autopilot and tore through the corridors to the passenger bunks.  
Bex followed Raziel down the steps three at a time, before she stopped dead in front of the passenger dorm. The leftmost sliding door was wide open and flames were billowing through it. Raziel yanked a fire extinguisher off the wall and pulled up the hood of his flight jacket. Bex grabbed another extinguisher from the wall of the med-bay and stayed outside the room, dousing flames that snuck through the doorway.

In the passenger bunk, Raziel found Sol cowering against the far wall. Opposite Sol, a welding torch lay on the floor, blasting out an enormous tongue of flames up to the ceiling. Raziel tossed the fire extinguisher to Sol and leaped over the flaming welding torch. In the corner, a pair of gas tanks fed the welding torch. Raziel scanned the sides of the tanks, choking on smoke, until his fingers found a valve. Raziel twisted the valve to the left, and Sol screamed as the flames doubled in size.  
Raziel jumped and wrenched the valve to the right to shut it. The fire alarms died down. Bex pushed her way into the room and picked Sol up in a fireman's carry. As Bex and Sol left the room, Raziel blasted a few scorched parts of the walls with his fire extinguisher, until he was shivering from the freezing gas.

" _Fire averted,_ " a female voice called over the _Darkstar_ 's intercom system. " _Activating emergency oxygen reserves._ "  
Raziel breathed deeply as the foul-smelling carbon dioxide was replaced by fresh air. Meanwhile, the voice on the intercom addressed the ship again. " _Low oxygen levels detected. Please adjust course for nearest planet._ "  
Raziel left the makeshift workshop and stormed into the med-bay. Inside, Sol was lying on the medical table in a hospital gown, with Bex and Southunder sitting next to her.

"What kind of _bendan_ (idiot) uses a _gas_ welder on board a _spaceship_?" Raziel ranted. "That fire could've burned up all our oxygen!"  
"Hey!" Southunder shouted back. "Leave her alone! She didn't know!"  
Bex scowled at Raziel. "It was clearly a mistake, Captain."  
Raziel ground his teeth. "Don't matter. Next time I see someone using open flame on this boat, they're gonna get a whoopin'. Now, if y'all excuse me, I gotta go figure out a way to fly us to Persephone on what little air we got left." With that, Raziel stalked out of the med-bay and slammed the door.

Southunder turned to Sol. "That was a mistake, right?" he whispered. "Don't mind the Cap'n; he's just a grumpy _piyan_."  
" _I heard that!_ " Raziel snapped from the stairs.  
"Of course it was," Sol coughed, still suffering from minor smoke inhalation. Bex stood up and walked out. "I better go calm down the captain." As she slipped through the door, Bex threw a wink in Sol's direction. After the med-bay door closed, Sol turned to Southunder and blushed. "Thanks for stickin' up for me," she smiled shyly.  
Southunder shrugged. "Ain't nothing. Cap'n should calm down soon enough, just don't go playin' with fire again." The big merc made to stand up, but Sol grabbed his metal hand. "Can you stay for a while?"  
Southunder tilted his head, and Sol cleared her throat. "I mean, I've heard about you. People say you're evil, but that ain't what I'm seein'. Can you tell me a bit about yourself?"  
Southunder gave Sol a smile and sat back down.

In the galley, Bex caught up with Raziel. "That wasn't fair, what you said to Sol. She ain't that experienced yet."  
"Everyone should know not to mess with open flame on a spaceship," Raziel muttered, fiddling with his Cortex unit.  
"Why don't you stop bein' so grumpy and tell me what's really on your mind?" Bex raised an eyebrow and pulled up a chair.  
Raziel sighed. "Ever heard of a space lung?" Bex shook her head.  
"It's a torture device," Raziel continued. "It's a big glass tank that sucks all the oxygen out of itself, to the point where the poor bastard inside feels like he's suffocating."  
Bex grimaced. "What does that have to do with Sol and the welding torch?"

Raziel put his Cortex unit down. "During the War, I was on a ship transporting Alliance POWs to a Browncoat base. They had one of those tanks on board; got it special for this Alliance brass we captured." Raziel gritted his teeth in disgust. "I didn't agree with it, but I was still a low enough rank that what I thought didn't matter."  
Bex nodded as Raziel continued. "Somehow, that purple _hun dan_ (bastard) managed to hide a match in his mouth, light it, and throw it down the oxygen vents in the tank. Half the ship was blown apart when the oxygen ignited. I got lucky and managed to get to a sealed corridor, but by then over a hundred Browncoats and Alliance all died."  
Bex's eyes widened. "That's a pretty good reason not to play with fire, I suppose," she said after a moment.  
"Yeah," Raziel mused. "Sorry I got mad."  
Bex stood up from the table and grabbed the apple Raziel had just taken from the bowl. "I ain't the one to apologize to."

Two days later, the _Darkstar_ approached Persephone, engines glowing a cold blue. Raziel sat in the pilot's chair, disengaged the autopilot and prepared to bring the Firefly in for a landing. The _Darkstar_ hit atmo, and the familiar howling of wind rattled Raziel's ears. The _Darkstar_ pointed her nose forward and increased her speed. The black Firefly soared through Persephone's upper atmo, leaving a trail of swirling clouds behind her. Raziel grinned and twitched the controls, sending the _Darkstar_ into a slow barrel roll. After a few minutes of flying, Eavesdown came into view. Buildings clustered together, holding some of the worst that humanity had to offer. Raziel bypassed the large towers and banked the _Darkstar_ , heading for Eavesdown Docks.

A few minutes later, the _Darkstar_ touched down with a small bump. Her engines cycled down, and the dust settled around her, as Raziel and Southunder disembarked. Bex elected to stay behind on the ship with Sol, in case any unsavory characters decided to try their luck and steal the Firefly.  
As Raziel and Southunder strolled through the docks, Southunder broke into a smirk. "You know Bex was lying, right?" he grunted.  
"Come again?" Raziel turned his head.  
"Bex knows the _Darkstar_ ain't gonna get stole," Southunder chuckled. "She just don't wanna go anywhere near Badger."  
Raziel grimaced and nodded. "Yeah, I don't blame her. Man's got about as much charm as a week-old shit."

"So, remind me again why we're dealing with Badger, when there's much better handlers, even on Persephone?" Southunder raised an eyebrow.  
"Cause," Raziel scowled. "Badger may only be a small fish, but he knows lots of bigger fish."  
Southunder shrugged. "Still, can't see why we don't just start with a bigger fish."  
Raziel was silent for a moment, and then shrugged too. "Cause?"  
"Oh yeah," Southunder rolled his eyes. "This is gonna go great."

Soon, Raziel and Southunder approached a giant stack of shipping containers. The Blue Sun logo had been spray-painted over, and a stylized graphic of a paw had been sprayed next to it. Raziel nodded. "Yeah, this is where the stench leads."  
Southunder followed Raziel through the maze of containers, as a guard led them to a space that could pass for a room that could pass for an office. Behind a cheap-looking sim-wood desk, in a cheap-looking sim-leather chair, sat Badger. The little crime lord cranked an apple through a mechanical peeler as he regarded Raziel and Southunder with a bored expression.

"What we got here?" Badger inquired in a thick cockney accent. Raziel stepped forward. "Clearly you're Badger," he began. "I'm Raziel Tyler, Captain of the _Darkstar,_ the Firefly on Landing Pad 6. I got word from some friends that you're a man who knows a thing or two about finding folks some work."  
"Who are these friends then?" Badger leaned forward.  
Raziel fidgeted. "They never did give their names, we had some idle chitchat in a bar, and they mentioned your name."  
Badger seemed to be satisfied with Raziel's answer. "What kind of work you lookin' for?"  
"We need cargo to haul, and we need to hire some folk," Southunder spoke up for the first time. "Any ideas?"  
Badger leered and passed Raziel a folder. "There's a job in there, but I dunno if there's any blokes worth hiring round here."

"Thanks, Badger," Raziel nodded, turning on his heel and following Southunder back the way they came. Back at the ship, Raziel spread the contents of the folder over the dining table. Bex and Sol entered the galley and peered through the folder. "That's what Badger wants us to do?" Bex asked. "Steal a bunch of frozen meat?"  
"Yup," Raziel replied. "We snatch a shipment of steak from a container in the docks, and deliver it to Cochrane Spaceport, right on the other side of this planet. We meet up with a contact, drop off the goods, and fly off again, easy as lyin'."

Just then, Southunder's Cortex unit rang. The big cyborg picked up the unit and read the message on the screen before breaking into a wide grin.  
"What's up?" Raziel asked curiously.  
Southunder read the message. "Mister Southunder, your package has been transferred to the Eavesdown Docks branch of Ammu-Nation, awaiting pickup."  
"What's the package?" Sol asked, as Southunder's grin grew wider.  
"My gun," he answered with glee. "Come on, everyone. Let's go shopping."

 _Song: ZZ Top – "Sharp Dressed Man"  
_ In town, Southunder drove his orange hover truck to a shop bearing a sign that read ' _Ammu-Nation!'_ in huge red and blue letters. Raziel, Bex and Sol climbed down from the cab as Southunder strolled inside. Inside the store, everyone's eyes widened. Guns and weapons of all shapes and sizes filled shelves to bending point; everything from small-caliber pocket pistols to an honest-to-Buddha suit of power armor with a minigun mounted on one shoulder. Southunder practically waltzed to the front desk, looking like a little kid in a candy store whose Christmases had all come at once. Raziel scanned a shelf full of shotguns, until one caught his eye. As he walked over to it, he was interrupted by an evil-sounding laugh from the front desk. Raziel whirled to find Southunder hefting the biggest gun Raziel had ever seen.

"What the hell is that?" Raziel, Sol and Bex gaped.

Southunder ran a hand along the massive gun's red and black flank. "This baby is a Kraken belt-fed Grenade Machine Gun. One ton of top-of-the-line hurt."  
"That's ruttin' scary," Bex said wide-eyed.  
Southunder nodded. "Good. That's what I'm goin' for. What were you lookin' at, Cap'n?"  
In the corner, Raziel lifted the shotgun he'd found. The gun was finished a dull matte black, and instead of a regular shotgun stock, it boasted a pistol-style handgrip. A store employee rushed over to Raziel as he lifted the gun from the wall. "That's a fine weapon you're holdin' there, Sir."  
"What is it?" Raziel asked.

"That there is a Remington Hellhound semi-automatic combat shotgun," the salesman smiled. "Guaranteed to ruin the day of any _si piyan_ gets in your way."  
"What's it fire?" Raziel asked, staring down the iron sights.  
The salesman pulled a list from his pocket. "This baby fires standard shot, explosive shells, hull-breachers, expanding rounds, acid rounds, electric shot, rock salt, and in a pinch, you can fire screws and nails as shrapnel shot."  
" _Wo cao,_ " Raziel grinned. "I'll take two."  
Three thousand credits later, Raziel slipped the twin Hellhounds into a pair of thigh holsters with a grin.

A clatter drew everyone's attention to a corner marked ' _Hardware_ '. In said corner, Sol hefted an enormous pipe wrench, easily half as tall as she.  
"What the hell do you plan on fixin' with that?" Southunder said, almost at a loss for words. In answer, Sol swung the wrench at a training dummy, smashing its head clean off. "Oops," she chuckled.  
Everyone in the shop stared as Sol carried the huge wrench to the sales counter and paid for it, and the dummy.  
Sol turned and tilted her head at the crew. "We have work to do, right?"

Half an hour later, the four spacers were back on the _Darkstar_. In the galley, Raziel rolled out a map of Eavesdown's warehouse district. "Right, the cargo is gonna be in this warehouse here," he pointed to a large building on the map. "Only problem is, the building's got sensors, and there's a Fed station about a mile away."  
"Wait a minute," Southunder rumbled. "Where is the container in the warehouse itself?"  
Raziel pointed to a marked dot on the map. The target container was at the end of a row of cargo crates, facing a wall.  
Southunder broke into an evil grin. "This'll be a piece of ruttin' cake."

Two hours of welding, over twenty cups of coffee, and several kilograms of steel later, Sol pushed up her welder's helmet and wiped her brow. "The rigs should be all good to go," she smiled.  
Southunder climbed down the steps to the cargo bay floor, followed by Raziel and Bex. Raziel peered at Sol's handiwork.  
Southunder's VelociRaptor hover truck and Raziel's GTR-71 aircar had each been fitted with a towing winch and a pneumatic launcher.  
"So," Bex coughed, "How exactly did you come up with this idea, Southunder?"  
Southunder shrugged and began climbing into the VelociRaptor. "I saw it in a vid once."

Raziel turned to Bex. "Right, Southunder and I are gonna go steal that container of meat. You and Sol need to fly out to the very edge of town, and we'll come to you. Things go right, we won't need to fire a single shot."  
"I hope you're right, Captain," Sol interrupted as she climbed the stairs to the galley.  
Raziel sat in the GTR-71's driver seat and hit the ignition. He fought to keep the grin off his face as the aircar's powerful engines roared into life.  
" _Follow me_ ," Southunder said over the radio. With that, the two aircars eased their way out of the cargo bay, before taking off through the air towards the warehouse district.

Bex watched them go before running up to the _Darkstar_ 's bridge. "Eavesdown Port control," Bex began, "This is Firefly Transport _Darkstar_ requesting permission for takeoff."  
" _Darkstar_ , _this is Port Control_ ," the operator replied. " _You are cleared for takeoff. Air traffic lane 1 has an opening in two minutes. Follow the beacons on up._ "  
Bex hung up the radio and started the Firefly's engines. From the engine room, Sol called across the ship. "All green on this end! Take her up, Bex!"  
Bex adjusted the throttle, and the _Darkstar_ rose gracefully into the air, soaring over the port control tower towards the outskirts of Eavesdown.

In the warehouse district, Raziel and Southunder approached the storage facility Badger had marked on the map. The two aircars floated over the warehouse's fence, and landed inside the perimeter. Raziel hailed Southunder over the radio. "Remember, this is a green shipping container with a cow on the side."  
Southunder's reply froze Raziel in his seat. " _You mean like that one_?"  
Raziel whipped around and looked out the side window. On the concrete outside the warehouse, Badger's merchandise was being loaded onto a truck by a swarm of armed men. Raziel swore. "No time for stealth now, Jonny!" The two drivers gunned their engines and roared toward the thieves.

As they drove, Raziel released the lock on his car's winch. The hook dragged on the ground, attached to its rapidly unspooling cable. Meanwhile, the rival thieves panicked seeing the two aircars closing in. The hover rig started moving, carrying away the green shipping container. Raziel hauled on the GTR-71's wheel and activated the handbrake. The aircar's back end swung out, trailing the hook and the cable. The cable smashed into the row of armed men, sending them flying in a neat, orderly line. Raziel stopped the aircar and jumped out, brandishing his new Hellhound shotguns.

Southunder swerved left and screeched to a stop by the warehouse's gate. The big mercenary jumped out of the truck, and faced down the fleeing hover rig. As the rig bore down on him, Southunder lit up a cigar and blew a smoke ring. The hover rig's horn blared as it approached, and without a word, Southunder drew his metal fist back and let fly.  
The hover rig's front end crumpled like a soda can, with a horrible noise of crunching metal. Southunder ducked as the rig's momentum sent the trailer sailing over his head. As the trailer's rear hover jets passed overhead, Southunder reached up and grabbed the trailer's rear end, smashing it into the ground. Two mercenaries who had been standing on the trailer decided to play dead.

Raziel stood up tall and held his shotguns on the pile of groaning mercenaries he'd hit with the tow cable. "Make one move and y'all die," he growled.  
" _Hey, hey, hey!_ " came a voice. " _Time out, boys! Time out!_ "  
Badger stepped out of the warehouse, flanked by a pair of armed thugs. The kingpin stared at the destruction in the warehouse yard with an impressed look on his stubbly face.  
"Badger?" Raziel exclaimed. "What are you doin' here?"  
Badger sniffed disdainfully. "Makin' sure you're the right men for the job, is all."  
Raziel holstered one Hellhound, keeping a wary eye on Badger. "Explain."

Badger sat on an upended crate. "I gave this job to five other crews, including one of mine," he began. "It was a test to see which of ya can get the job done right, to a high standard o'course. There were four other crates besides this one. Those that took the wrong crates, well, let's just say Cochrane ain't the best place in the 'Verse to take stolen goods to; even little wobbly-head dolls."  
"Are those your boys there?" Raziel asked, pointing to the unconscious mercs on the floor.  
"Not anymore, that's for sure," Badger spat on the ground. "You got the real contract," he continued. "That steak is actually goin' to a liner in orbit, the _Star of Londinium_. Still interested?"  
Raziel nodded and put his other shotgun away. "Southunder! Let's get gone!" he called.

The two tow hooks bit into the shipping container with a loud _bang_. Raziel and Southunder started the VelociRaptor and the GTR-71, preparing to move out. Badger had disappeared already, but siren could be heard in the distance.  
" _Ready_?" Southunder asked.  
Raziel grinned. "Hit it."  
The two aircars roared off the mark, dragging the green shipping container behind them. Raziel and Southunder drove through town, headed for the rural areas. As the aircars passed overhead, people on the streets shouted angrily, and dived out of the way when the shipping container shrieked past.

At the sound of a siren, Southunder checked his mirror to see an Alliance patrol car following overhead. "Raziel," he called over the radio. "We got fuzz!"  
" _I'll take care of them,_ " Raziel replied, disengaging his tow hook. Southunder hit the gas and the VelociRaptor surged ahead. Meanwhile, the GTR-71 banked hard, soaring upwards to face off the flying patrol car. Suddenly, the officer banked his car and turned the siren off. Raziel watched it fly away, confused, until the radio crackled.  
" _A little favor,_ " Badger said, the smirk in his Cockney accent evident even over the radio.  
Raziel swerved back around to follow Southunder, to where the _Darkstar_ could be seen at the edge of a field.

Back on the ship, Southunder ground his teeth. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted that weasel. Settin' us up to get caught."  
"Just be glad we have a cargo," Bex shrugged. "And now Badger knows we're the ones to go to for jobs, so we'll always have work at least."  
"I still don't like it," the big merc grumbled. "I'll be in my bunk."

 _Author's Notes:  
So, I think some explanation is due here.  
Sometimes, bosses send prospective workers on fool's errands (Tartan Paint, Nail Holes, Sky Hooks, etc.). Badger left five crates in the warehouse. Four were full of little geisha dolls, and only one had the real cargo of steak inside. The crew that stole the crate of steak would be given the real contract, and a set of coordinates to the Star of Londinium. The other four crews would arrive at Cochrane Spaceport, where they'd be arrested for smuggling.  
And in case anyone is wondering, the Captain of the Star of Londinium does business with Badger to get meat and other products at a discount. Simple as that._

 _I'll have another few chapters ready soon, but I have three projects on the go for university, so no guarantees on time frame._

 _-the Seacopath_


	6. Chapter 5: Kiss the Cook

**Chapter 5: Kiss the Cook**

 _Song: Raven Felix – "If You Only Knew"  
_ The _Darkstar_ broke Persephone's atmo, headed for an enormous ship in the distance. Raziel and Bex sat in the bridge, while Southunder and Sol occupied the galley. Raziel scanned the ship's course, planning an approach, while Bex fiddled with the gunner's console. From the galley, Southunder groaned for what had to be the hundredth time.  
Raziel rolled his eyes and activated the _Darkstar_ 's intercom system.  
" _No, Southunder, we can't take any steak for ourselves, cause the folks on the Star of Londinium will know._ "

"It sucks!" the big merc grumbled. "That's top-grade beef in there!"  
" _And we're gettin' paid twice the market price for it,_ " Raziel shot back. " _Buy steak for yourself after the job's done, but don't get into the gorram cargo._ "  
Southunder stuck his tongue out in the direction of the bridge.  
" _And put your tongue back in your mouth, for Buddha's sake,_ " Raziel added after a second. " _I know you too well_."  
Southunder grumbled and stomped off to the cargo bay.

A few hours later, the _Darkstar_ cut her engines as she approached the much larger _Star of Londinium._ Using RCS thrusters, Raziel guided the Firefly into the massive cruise liner's hangar bay, carefully maneuvering around cargo cranes and other ships. The _Darkstar_ was clearly the biggest vehicle in the hangar bay, towering over medium-sized passenger shuttles and cargo drones. Raziel guided the Firefly into a spot designed for larger ships, and deployed the landing legs. The docking screen displayed a green icon, and Raziel pulled out the _Darkstar_ 's starter chip. Grabbing the radio, Raziel broadcast his voice through the _Darkstar_.  
" _Southunder, you gotta stay on the Darkstar. The Star of Londinium is packed with Alliance Nobles, and we can't risk you bein' recognized. Sol, you're welcome to come with me and Bex._ "

Sol met Raziel and Bex in the cargo bay, dressed in a moderately clean pair of armored work pants and a leather jacket with a crossed wrench and screwdriver design on the back.  
"You clean up nice," Bex smirked.  
Sol smiled and gestured to the cargo door. Raziel put up his hood and opened the ship. The three spacers descended the cargo ramp, and were immediately picked up by a hovering platform. "They must know we're comin'," Bex nodded.  
"Great," Raziel grumbled, face shaded under his hood. "Advance notice to spring somethin' nasty, I bet."  
Sol rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a grump, Cap'n."  
"Let's just get this job done," Raziel snipped back, on edge.

 _Song: Pretty Little Liars Theme  
_ The elevator doors slid open, and the three spacers stared at the scene before them. The main level of the _Star of Londinium_ could only be described as an indoor beach resort. In the center of the cavernous space, a cluster of tropical-inspired buildings sat in a huge lake of sparkling blue water. A simulated sky overhead shone fake sunlight down on hundreds of people who lounged in hovering beach chairs, sunbathing, drinking and eating like royalty.  
"This is what I hate about the Alliance," Raziel hissed. "Every gorram rich slob in here is the ruler of their own little world, just cause they were born into money, or cause they made money off the sweat and blood of slaves and servants."  
"Don't get all philosophical on me, Cap'n," Bex nudged Raziel's shoulder. "Let's just head up to the bridge, sign for the cargo and get off this boat."

Raziel and the two women crossed the immense resort space to an elevator marked _Control Deck_. At the touch of a button, silver doors slid open to reveal the elevator pod. Raziel stepped inside, utterly wired and on edge. Sol pressed the button again, and the elevator shot upwards.  
Soon, the doors opened and Raziel stepped onto the _Star_ 's bridge. A man who could only be the captain turned to the spacers. The captain's purple suit practically gleamed in the bridge's harsh white light. His beard could have rivaled Southunder's in terms of size and intricacy, but his shaven head shone brightly under the lights.

"Who is the captain among you?" the _Star_ 's captain asked.  
Raziel stepped forward and nodded, face still in shadow. Taken aback, the other captain held out a clipboard and a leather bag. "Sign here then. And tell Badger it was a pleasure doing business."  
Raziel reached out a hand, wordlessly scribbled his initials on the cargo transfer form and snatched the bag of coin. With that, he turned on his heel and strode back out towards the elevator. Bex threw an apologetic look at the _Star_ 's captain as she and Sol followed Raziel out.  
On the elevator, Bex punched Raziel in the shoulder. "What was that about?"  
"I gotta get off this ship," Raziel snapped back. "I'm chokin' on the hypocrisy and pretentiousness in here. I mean, for Buddha's sake, I heard a bunch of Core snobs talkin' about super foods, whatever the _qin xiao da_ that means."  
"I know what'll help," Sol nodded, pressing a button labeled _kitchen._

The elevator doors whooshed open, and Bex immediately ducked as a knife impaled itself in the lift wall next to her head. At the sounds of fighting, Raziel immediately perked up and dashed off. Bex gave Sol a worried look. "Uh-oh."  
Raziel waded through the brawl in the kitchen, punching every face within reach. A screaming chef dived at him holding a pair of knives, but Raziel whipped out one of his Hellhounds and belted the man across the face with the shotgun's grip. In the center of the kitchen, the cause of the chaos became clear.  
A tall, middle-aged chef ranted and raved at a young blond cook, who had dropped an entire platter of exquisite-looking food.  
"YOU RUTTING IMBECILE!" the chef roared. "HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO FIX THIS? THAT FOOD TOOK THREE HOURS TO MAKE, YOU IDIOT!"

Raziel stepped in with a wicked grin. "Care for some help?" he cackled to the cook. With that, Raziel landed a solid right hook in the raving chef's face. The chef flew across the kitchen and slid along the entire length of a cooking counter, scattering food, utensils and equipment everywhere. Meanwhile, Raziel held out a hand to the unfortunate cook. "That _piyan_ shouldn't be pickin' on folks."  
"Thanks," the cook stammered. "That was impressive."  
Raziel shrugged. "Ain't nothin'."  
"Who are you anyway?" asked the cook as he dusted himself off.  
"No one, really," Raziel replied casually, snagging half a pear off the top of a nearby cake. "Just a spacer passin' through, lookin' for a good cook for his ship."

"Well, I'm Alex Fontaine," the cook said proudly. "I want to be the best chef the 'Verse has ever seen."  
"That's a bold dream," Raziel nodded, munching on the pear. "Pity you won't ever get to make it come true on a boat like this."  
Fontaine's jaw dropped and he rounded on Raziel. "Hey, _piyan_ , shut up! What makes you say that anyway?"  
Raziel pointed to the head chef who lay at the far end of the kitchen in a groaning heap. "That guy. I'm guessin' he takes credit for every new dish y'all come up with down here?" At this, Fontaine nodded sadly. "You're right, but this is the best job I ever had."  
"Want a better one?" Raziel asked. "Cook for me and my crew, and I promise you'll be known across the 'Verse one day."

Fontaine scratched his chin, and spoke up after a minute. "Do I get my own bunk?"  
Raziel nodded. "Your own bunk, a fully stocked kitchen, and a share in whatever jobs we do as a crew."  
Fontaine stood there, deep in thought, and straightened up. "I'll come with you guys," he began, "on one condition."  
"Oh?" Raziel asked curiously. "What's that?"  
A wicked gleam entered Fontaine's eye. "Pick up Chef Skinner for a minute."

"Can do." Raziel hopped down off the counter, strode across the kitchen and lifted the unconscious chef by his shirt. A second later, Fontaine ran across the kitchen and walloped Skinner across the jaw, sending the chef flying again. Alex doubled over laughing as Skinner crashed into a pile of pots and pans. "Ruttin' finally! I've been wanting to do that to that old _hun dan_ (bastard) for years!"  
"I suppose that's one way to say 'I quit'," Bex nudged Sol where they stood by the kitchen doors, trying not to giggle.  
"I gotta grab my stuff and resign, but I'll meet you later," Alex smiled at Raziel once he'd finished laughing. "Where's your ship?"  
"Docking bay 8," Raziel replied. "See you there."

Twenty minutes later, Raziel, Bex and Sol walked back aboard the _Darkstar_.  
"There you are," Southunder grunted from the weight bench he'd set up. The huge cyborg was bench-pressing a barbell loaded down with stacks of hundred-kilogram weight plates.  
"Using your metal arm is cheating, you know," Bex smirked. A second later, her smirk fell flat and her jaw fell open as Southunder casually continued lifting the massive weights, using only his flesh arm.  
Raziel chuckled as he walked by Bex, putting his hand under her chin and gently closing her mouth. Bex glared daggers at Raziel as he walked upstairs to the bridge.

As Raziel ran through the _Darkstar_ 's startup sequence, the scanner detected a lifeform approaching from the hangar door. Raziel looked out the viewport and grinned as he saw Alex making his way to the ship, struggling to haul an enormous bag behind him.  
In the cargo bay, Southunder looked up as Raziel's voice came over the intercom. " _Jonny, help our new cook with his bags, will ya_?"  
Southunder hauled Alex and his luggage aboard as Raziel began to guide the _Darkstar_ out into open space. Once clear of the _Star of Londinium,_ Raziel triggered Hard Burn, and the _Darkstar_ took off into the black.

In the galley, Alex silently walked around, examining the cabinets, countertops and cooking appliances already on board. After a while, he turned to Raziel with a thoughtful look.  
"This seems doable," Fontaine nodded. "How many am I cooking for?"  
"At the moment, five including you," Raziel replied. "But I'm planning on hiring more crew later on."  
"Good," Fontaine grinned. "I like cooking for a large group."  
Raziel poured himself a tumbler of rum and sat on a beanbag chair in the kitchen's alcove area. "Can't wait."

The next three days passed by slowly, until the _Darkstar_ approached Persephone. Raziel deactivated the autopilot and prepared to take the ship into atmo. Behind him, Bex entered the bridge and sat in the gunner's chair. Bex ran her hands over the controls on the gunner's console, before she looked over at Raziel.  
"You think we'll ever get the chance to use this ship's guns for real?" she asked.  
"Can't say for sure," Raziel replied absently. "Part of me hopes we'll get to use them for the right reasons, and another part of me hopes we'll never have to fire another shot again."  
Bex rolled her eyes. "You realize in our line of work, never firing a shot again is a pretty good way to get kilt, right?"  
Raziel sighed and adjusted the controls. "I know. I just mean it'd be nice if our jobs don't always end in firefights."

The _Darkstar_ hit Persephone's atmo, and the wind began to howl as the ship cut through it. Raziel aimed for the large green beacon representing Eavesdown Docks and sent the _Darkstar_ into a gentle curve, circling the spaceport. Bex got on the radio to Port Control. "Eavesdown Port Control, this is the _Darkstar_ , requesting permission to dock."  
Half an hour later, Raziel strolled out of Badger's container maze, a bag of platinum in one hand and a note from Badger in the other.  
 _"Lookin' for work? Try the Border Planets_ ," the note read.  
As Raziel hopped up the _Darkstar_ 's cargo ramp, he called up the stairs to Bex. "We're headed to the Core."

 _Author's Notes:  
Now we have Alex on board. I've changed his story around a little bit. The reasons will become clear later. Next chapter is coming out soon.  
-the Seacopath_


	7. Chapter 6: What's Up, Doc?

**Chapter 6: What's Up, Doc?**

Osiris was a world of cities. From one side of the continents to the other was a virtually unbroken concrete landscape. Skyscrapers towered overhead like giant silver needles, gleaming in the intense light of White Sun. Everywhere, cameras recorded, sensors sensed, and Federal Marshals roamed. Osiris was a Core Planet in every sense of the word.  
The _Darkstar_ fell through the planet's carbon-scrubbed atmosphere, panels glowing red from atmospheric friction. In the cargo bay, Sol and Southunder occupied the weight bench, while Alex watched from the stairs nearby. Southunder was spotting Sol as she pressed a barbell. "Good job Sol, last set," Southunder rumbled. Sol grunted with effort as she managed to slam the bar back onto the rack.

"Nice!" Southunder grinned as he held up his flesh arm for a high-five. "Keep that up, we'll make a fighter outta you."  
Alex stood up. "Let me try that. The weight says fifty on it. Piece of cake." The chef strode to the bench and cracked his knuckles while Sol tapped Southunder's shoulder. "Should we tell him?" she whispered.  
"Nah," Southunder smirked. "Let's let him figure it out."  
To his credit, Alex managed to press the barbell twice before his arms wobbled, and gave out entirely. Southunder rushed forward and caught the bar just before it slammed into Alex's chest.  
" _Ji du_ (Christ)," Alex gasped. "I thought it said fifty pounds!"  
Southunder chuckled as he re-racked the bar. "It says fifty kilos, _bendan_ (dumbass)."  
Alex crossed his arms and stormed upstairs. "Thanks for lettin' me know in advance, _yuchun de rou tou_ (stupid meathead)!"

Just then, a shudder traveled through the ship and the noise of the engines died down. Raziel and Bex descended the stairs to the cargo bay, arguing.  
"Look, I don't see why we don't hire a doctor from Osiris," Bex exclaimed. "They're some of the best in the 'Verse!"  
"They'll also be purple-bellies through and through," Raziel snapped back. "You know they'd rat out a smugger crew like us in a second. Or did you forget what Monty had to do for you last time you trusted a Core-boy?"  
A sharp crack resonated through the cargo bay as Bex's hand connected solidly with Raziel's face. " _Niang_ (motherfucker)!" she shouted angrily.  
Everyone stopped and watched the argument.  
"FINE!" Raziel yelled, holding the side of his face. "Fine! We'll find us a gorram Core doctor after we pick up the new contract! Just don't come cryin' to me when they sell us out the first chance they get!"

Bex ran back upstairs and the slamming of doors could be heard. Raziel seemed to deflate as he listened to the sound of crying coming from above, and turned to follow her.  
Southunder stomped on the floor to get Raziel's attention. "I wouldn't go that way if'n I was you." He indicated the four bleeding lines on Raziel's face. "She did that to you; tells me she ain't nowhere near safe to be around."  
"Gorram it," Raziel grumbled. "I guess we need a doctor now anyhow. Why are womenfolk so gorram complicated?"  
"Beats the hell outta me," Alex shrugged. "Kinda makes me glad I'm bi."  
Conversation froze again as all heads turned to Alex. "Oh," he stammered. "Did I say that out loud?"

In her bunk, Bex rocked in a corner, flashes of memory ripping across her mind; James, the Institute, men in black suits and blue gloves, James, men in white from head to toe, pain…  
" _Cao_ (fuck)!" Bex shouted, slamming her fist against the wall. "Why do you have to be such a _piyan_ , Raziel?"

In Capital City, Raziel and Southunder drove down the street in the VelociRaptor. Checking his map, Southunder made a right turn, headed for the Red Dot Bar to meet the crew's next contact. However, the word 'bar' didn't do the place justice. The club was nestled on the bottom levels of a massive brick tower block. Instead of a name, a red neon circle glowed above the front door. A valet service took cars down the alley next to the building, which was just as shiny and spotless as the street itself. Southunder pulled up to a valet and handed him the VelociRaptor's keys. As the valet drove off, Raziel and Southunder strolled past the bouncers and headed into the club.

 _Song: What Chu Wanna Do (Ladies in the Club)  
_ The Red Dot was packed with people, enjoying the Osiran night scene. The dance floor was crammed edge to edge, the bar staff were almost a blur as they made and served drinks, and the upper booths were filled with people getting private dances and bottle service. Raziel made his way to a table, while Southunder strolled to the bar.  
"Let's have a bottle of rum and a bottle of whiskey," Southunder rumbled to the bartender. "Nothin' fancy here."  
"Right you are, sir," the bartender replied. "That's fifty credits."

Southunder passed over the money and swaggered back to the table. "Hey Raziel, you owe me thirty credits for the rum."  
Raziel looked around and grinned. "I was just about to say you owe me forty for the service here."  
Southunder smirked as a beautiful woman stood up from the round couch and gave him a sultry smile. Southunder sat down and popped the cork on his whiskey, as the dancer started moving to the beat, swaying her hips and running her hands up and down her body.  
"Now this is a good way to wait for a contact," Southunder nudged Raziel.

Meanwhile, back on the _Darkstar_ , Sol and Bex shared a pastry concoction Alex had just finished making in the galley. Alex stepped out from behind the cooking counter and snagged a piece of the pastry. "Chef cooked it, chef eats it," he winked at the two women. Sol took another bite and sat back in her chair.  
"You think Southunder likes me?" she asked after a moment.  
Alex choked on his bite of pastry. "You know Southunder?" he gasped.  
"Well yeah," Sol nodded. "He's the big guy with the metal arm. How did you not know that?"  
"I never actually got his name," Alex said, terrified. "I've been callin' him Jonny, or _yuchun de rou tou,_ since I got on this boat. Oh, I'm so dead for that."  
"Relax," Bex shrugged, munching on pastry. "If'n he was fixin' to kill you, he'd have done it already. Don't call him names no more, and you should be fine."  
Alex wasn't listening. Walking out of the room, he muttered to himself, "Why do I always get on boats with the crazy ones?"

Back in the Red Dot, Raziel and Southunder each felt a tap on their shoulders. The two spacers turned to see a smartly-dressed man flanked on either side by bodyguards that seemed to be more gorilla than human.  
"Hello, gentlemen," the smaller man said in a thick Santo accent. "I am Rollo Antonin, and I own this club. I hope you're enjoying your time at the Red Dot."  
"Can't complain," Raziel grinned. "Nice place."  
"Indeed," Rollo replied, before looking at Southunder. "I noticed you have a very beautiful VelociRaptor hover truck. How much do you want for it?"

Southunder shook his head. "Ain't for sale," he grunted. "I won that baby fair and square. 'Sides, it's our ride for the night."  
Rollo smiled. " _Every bitch has a price they're willing to pay,_ " he said brightly, in Santo's native language.  
" _Not this time, bitch,_ " Southunder replied in the same language, stunning everyone present. The big merc sat back in his seat and crossed his arms smugly. For his part, Rollo scowled and turned to leave. "Compliments of the house." As he spoke, one of the mountainous bodyguards placed a bottle of champagne into a bucket. The three men turned and left without another word.  
Raziel grinned. "And here's our contract."

Half an hour later, the VelociRaptor surged up the _Darkstar_ 's cargo ramp. Raziel got out of the driver's seat and opened the passenger door for Southunder. The huge cyborg jumped out and promptly fell over. From up on the catwalks, Bex shouted down angrily. "Why the hell's Southunder drunk at five in the evening?"  
"He drank the whole bottle of champagne our contract chip is inside!" Raziel called back up.  
At that moment, Southunder's whole body shook. The cyborg hauled himself to a nearby bucket and violently threw up. Raziel ran to Southunder's side and rolled him over, before stopping in shock. Southunder's face was deathly pale, and his eyes were rolling.  
" _Ai ya huai lei_ (shit on my head)," Raziel hissed. "Poison."

"We need to call a doctor!" Bex exclaimed as she ran down the steps two at a time.  
Raziel whirled on her as Southunder spasmed again. "Are you crazy? There ain't a doctor in the whole Core won't report this! It's Jonathon gorram Southunder, for Buddha's sake!"  
"He won't be the _live_ Jonathon gorram Southunder for much longer, unless we call a gorram doctor!" Bex snapped.  
Raziel ground his teeth. "Fine, gorrammit. We take his arm off and cover his face. And if the doc gets mouthy, we shoot him and run."  
Bex pressed the intercom. "Alex, we need you to get on the Cortex and call Osiris Hospital. Southunder's been poisoned." With that, Bex ran off to the bridge and started the ship.

The _Darkstar_ rose into the air, headed for the biggest hospital in Capital City. The Firefly swooped in closer to the building, weaving around ambulances like a black dragon scattering a flock of white seagulls. In the cargo bay, Raziel winched the VelociRaptor up to the ceiling. When the truck was safely stored, Raziel picked up the champagne bottle with the data chip inside, and hurled it at the deck. The bottle smashed, sending shards of glass flying everywhere, and the data chip skittering away. Raziel lunged for the chip and caught it before it would have disappeared through a vent grate in the floor.

 _Song: Above and Beyond – "Black Room Boy"  
_ Meanwhile, Bex gently landed the _Darkstar_ on a landing pad attached to the side of the hospital building. Almost as soon as the engines cycled down, a door in the building opened and a swarm of people ran through it towards the ship. At the head of the group was a tall black man with dreadlocks dressed in a white coat. Beside him was a younger man with red glasses, short hair and a clipboard.  
The group ran up the _Darkstar_ 's cargo ramp, but stopped at the inner airlock door. Raziel activated the intercom and spoke to the assembled people.  
" _All security staff goes back inside. We need one doctor only. There's a poisoned crewmember on board._ "  
A security man stepped forward and pressed the intercom button. "I'm sorry, but we can't go back inside. Unknown individuals are currently targeting doctors, so we have to remain with them."

" _Fine_ ," Raziel replied. " _You can stay outside, but you ain't boarding this ship._ "  
A second later, the airlock door opened enough to admit a single-file line. The black doctor stepped through, followed by the younger assistant. As soon as the two men entered the _Darkstar_ , the airlock door shut in the security detail's faces.  
" _Nice try_ ," Raziel smirked, shutting off the intercom as the security chief ground his teeth.

The doctor put his black medical bag on the floor and took out a stethoscope. "Intern Tam," he instructed, "Help the crew get this man into the recovery position."  
The young intern joined Alex, Sol and Bex at Southunder's side. Together, they rolled the big merc onto one side and tilted his head back. Meanwhile, the doctor looked Raziel in the eye. "I know who this is," he said shrewdly. "I always respected Southunder, in the same way that a soldier respects a nuclear bomb. Treating wounds on the battlefield was the worst experience of my life. So much pain…" the doctor trailed off before clearing his throat. "At least when Southunder entered the battlefield, we only needed to bury the dead. In a way, Southunder prevented many soldiers' needless suffering."  
"So are you gonna rat us to the Feds?" Raziel asked, pulling back his jacket to reveal his Hellhounds.  
"No," the doctor answered. But I ask that you leave as soon as we're done here."

The intern called over. "Doctor Cassan, this man has snake venom in his system."  
Doctor Cassan knelt down and inspected Southunder. "This will be easier than I thought." He grabbed a syringe out of his bag and jabbed it into Southunder's neck. A stream of blood filled the syringe up to the halfway mark, and Doctor Cassan took the needle out. "Keep pressure on his neck," he instructed the intern, while he turned back to his bag. Cassan typed a few commands into a keypad on the side of his bag and screwed the syringe into a port next to the keypad. A strange yellow liquid filled the other half of the syringe, and a small probe entered the chamber. A second later, the mixture had turned a bright orange.  
Cassan plucked the syringe up and attached another needle to the end. The needle went into Southunder's chest and the merc spasmed again.  
As soon as the spasm began to die down, Doctor Cassan grabbed the syringe and depressed the plunger.

The orange liquid disappeared into Southunder's chest, and almost immediately, his breathing slowed. Cassan threw the syringe away and passed Raziel a sheet of flimsi. "Give him plenty of water and iron-rich foods. A lot of blood was affected by the poison."  
"Thanks, Doc," Raziel replied. A second later, a thought occurred to Doctor Cassan.  
"Captain?" he asked.  
Raziel turned and raised an eyebrow. "Somethin' on your mind?"  
"How far can this ship fly?" Cassan gestured around the cargo bay.  
"Far as we need it to," Raziel replied curiously. "Why do you ask?"  
Cassan tapped his foot on the deck. "Do you think I can come with you?"

Raziel stopped in surprise. "Come again?"  
"I want to fly with you," Cassan repeated.  
"Why?" Raziel crossed his arms.  
Cassan sat down on a crate. "I'm due to be transferred to a hospital out on Persephone. That's not exactly civilization, and most patients there would turn around and rob me as soon as I healed them."  
"What's your point?" Raziel pressed.  
Cassan took a breath. "My point is, you threatened to shoot me; risking your life and your freedom for your crew. I want to see the 'Verse and become a better doctor, and if I have to fly on a ship, I'd like to fly on one with a captain who would never leave a man behind."

Raziel pushed the button to open the airlock door. "We're leaving in twenty minutes. If you really want to come with us, grab whatever bits of precious you can't bear to part with, and get back to this landing pad."  
"Wait, what about me?" came a voice. Raziel and Doctor Cassan turned to see the young intern standing by the airlock door looking rather lost. Doctor Cassan reached into his coat pocket and passed the intern a scroll of paper. "I meant to give you this after your shift finished today, but now's a good time."  
Cassan continued as the intern unrolled the scroll. "That's your Doctor's Certificate, and my letter of recommendation. Congratulations, Doctor Simon Tam."

Doctor Cassan dashed off past the security team. Doctor Tam followed him out the airlock door a minute afterwards, eyes wide as saucers.  
"Where's the doctor goin'?" Southunder slurred, still on the floor.  
Raziel narrowed his eyes. "He's comin' back. I'm still deciding whether or not to let him in. Let's get you to the med-bay."  
Exactly nineteen minutes later, Doctor Cassan crashed through the hospital doors, breathing heavily. A suitcase bounced along behind the doctor as he sprinted to the Firefly. On the bridge, Raziel nodded and pressed a button on a stopwatch, before hitting the throttle.  
Cassan crashed to the floor of the airlock, gasping for breath. Outside, the hospital shrunk away as the _Darkstar_ took off.

A second later, the outer door raised itself shut, and the rushing wind was muted. Cassan clung to his suitcase as the ship shuddered with turbulence, before all became silent. The blue sky of Osiris was replaced with the soft darkness of space. The noise of turbojet engines was gone; in its place was the gentle hum of a reactor core. Suddenly, the quiet was shattered with the opening of the inner airlock doors. Cassan whirled around to see Raziel leaning against a railing, munching on an apple.  
"What's up, Doc?" he smirked.

Some time later, Raziel, Sol and Bex watched Doctor Cassan pace around the _Darkstar_ 's med-bay, organizing shelves and sorting medical tools. Cassan's black medical bag sat alone on a raised stand, almost like a trophy, connected to a mass of wires and tubes. Southunder occupied the med-bay table, loudly snoring as the effects of the poisoned champagne and the drugs wore off.  
"I think we got ourselves a shiny doctor," Sol smiled brightly.  
Raziel narrowed his eyes. "I still don't trust him."  
"You don't have to trust him right now," Bex shrugged. "You have until we get to Haven. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll grow on you."  
"Oh, brilliant," Raziel grumped as he stomped off. "I'll be in my bunk."

 _Author's Notes:  
So now, Robert's on board. The crew has a doctor.  
We have one more crewmember to make a debut, and then the story really gets rollin'.  
Till then,  
-the Seacopath_


	8. Chapter 7: Holy Hole

**Chapter 7: Holy Hole**

" _Ta ma de_!" Raziel grumbled, furiously typing on the navigational computer. "Why ain't there any other routes to Haven besides the one that takes us all the way through the Core?"  
"What's the problem, Captain?" Alex piped up. The cook walked onto the bridge carrying a bowl on a tray. Raziel sniffed the air and turned, his grumpiness gone for the moment. In the bowl was a meat curry of some kind, giving off a spicy, strong scent.  
"I'm experimenting," Alex explained as Raziel took a bite. "Thoughts, Captain?"  
Raziel's face immediately turned tomato red. "Oh sweet cheesy Buddha!" he choked. "Water! I need water right ruttin' now!"

Alex passed Raziel a glass off the tray. Within seconds, all the water was gone. Mercifully, within a few minutes, Raziel's breathing had returned to normal. "What the hell was in that?" he gasped. "Molten lava? The core of White Sun?"  
"New Kasmir Black Widow chilies," Alex said with a guilty look. "I guess I used too much, huh?"  
"Don't get me wrong," Raziel held up a hand. "It was delicious, until the burning started. Maybe just skip the chili altogether."  
Alex's eyes widened. "Oh no," he gasped. "I just realized; if it's that spicy, I need to get rid of it before-"  
"AAAAAARRRRGH!" Southunder's panicked bellow practically shook the ship.  
Raziel winced. "That."

Some time later, the _Darkstar_ soared through the open space between the White Sun and Blue Sun star systems. Alex was playing cards in the galley with Sol and Bex, Southunder was having his burned tongue and wounded pride treated by Robert, while Raziel occupied the bridge. In the distance was a wreck of what looked like a transport ship.  
Raziel quickly scanned the wreck in front of the _Darkstar_. The scanner beeped, signaling an absence of life forms. Raziel cracked his knuckles and shifted over to the gunner's chair. His fingers played over the many dials and buttons on the console. A blue holographic targeting display flickered into life, displaying the active weapons and ammunition levels. Raziel took hold of the aiming controls. Outside the ship, under the nose, two railgun turrets activated and pointed forward.

Raziel took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. The ship's front end jolted as a pair of shells streaked off into the distance towards the ruined ship. A second later, an engine on the port side of the derelict spectacularly exploded. Raziel sat back in the chair, a little awestruck, before selecting a new weapon on the display.  
A chunk of debris from the wreck floated past the viewport. Raziel took hold of the controls and squeezed the trigger again. A line of tracer fire lanced out from the _Darkstar_ , ripping the space junk to pieces. Meanwhile, Bex and Alex had run onto the bridge.  
"What the hell are you doing?" Alex gasped, watching the destruction.  
Raziel grinned without turning around. "Target practice."

More explosions appeared on the floating wreck as Raziel loosed a pair of missiles in its direction. After a minute, Alex pointed to a red button covered by a plastic box. "What's that do?"  
Raziel twisted a key, and the box popped open. "Let's find out."  
As soon as Raziel's finger pushed the button, the lights on the bridge and the targeting console all turned red. A crosshair appeared on the display, along with a warning message. " _Confirm Activation?_ " the message read. Raziel pushed the button again, and the first warning was replaced by a second message. " _Target Locked._ "

"Wait," Bex spoke up. "Should we really do this? We don't know who might be watching."  
Raziel nodded. "Even if someone's watching, I'm pretty sure whatever this is will send them a clear message not to _ta ma de gen women_ (fuck with us)." Raziel took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. A shrill beep echoed through the bridge, and with a shudder, a massive glowing pulse of blue energy exploded from the front of the ship, headed for the derelict in the distance.

The results were nothing short of biblical. The blue pulse hit the floating wreck and disappeared into a gap in the hull. A second later, the entire derelict savagely exploded with the force of a supernova. White lightning cracked space around the blast, as the blue energy eventually dissipated. In its place was a cloud of scrap metal chunks, rapidly disappearing into the black. On the _Darkstar_ 's bridge, Raziel, Alex and Bex stared openmouthed at the sheer destruction ahead.  
Bex reached out and carefully closed the plastic box over the red button. "Yeah…" she breathed, "Let's not shoot that one again."

After target practice was over, Raziel returned to the pilot's chair. The navigation computer beeped, signaling the Firefly's proximity to Haven. Bex entered the bridge and sat in the gunner's station as Raziel prepared to take the _Darkstar_ in for a landing. As the ship hit atmo, an open mine came into view. Massive pieces of mining machinery lumbered along, carrying thousands of tons of ore and rock towards the gargantuan processing rigs. Next to the mine sat a mountain, looking for all the 'Verse as though it had been scooped out of the mine's hole and dumped back down. The screen on the bridge pinged with an incoming transmission, and the whole crew gathered round.

" _Firefly transport Darkstar_ ," a voice came over the transmission. " _Please state your purpose_."  
Bex took the comms. "Haven Port Control, this is the _Darkstar_. We have a contract for a cargo job, and we request permission to land."  
Bex sent through part of the contract on the data stick, and after a minute, the console beeped green. Port Control came back on the line. " _Darkstar, you are cleared for landing on Colony Pad Four. Enjoy your stay in Haven._ "  
After Port Control finished speaking, Raziel angled the _Darkstar_ 's nose down towards an enormous door embedded in a stone face on the side of the mountain. The 300-foot-long, 170-foot-wide starship passed through the opening with room to spare. The crew gasped at the sight that met them.

Haven Colony was situated inside the towering mountain peak. The mountain itself was hollowed out to make room for a moderate-sized settlement. The roof of the cavern was supported by an intricate array of stone pillars, seemingly carved from the surrounding rock. At the very top of the cave, a large hole let in sunlight. Underneath the hole, a hanging assembly of mirrors distributed the sunlight, illuminating the entire cavern almost as brightly as the surface outside. In the center of town was a plain, yet large church, its bell tower almost reaching the light reflector.  
The _Darkstar_ soared over the settlement in a slow, gentle turn. On board, the crew's heads swiveled, taking in the amazing sights all around.

Raziel pulled back on the controls and the ship responded, rising through the air to a gigantic platform that was unmistakably a spaceport. Ships of all shapes and sizes filled the docking bays, but similar to the situation on the _Star of Londinium_ , the _Darkstar_ was clearly the largest vessel present. Raziel carefully edged the Firefly into place in a docking bay. While the ship hovered, a mechanical rig extended and locked onto several docking points on the black hull. When the console glowed green, Raziel cut the throttle, and the _Darkstar_ settled into the dock, her engines cycling down.  
"Right," Southunder chuckled. "Let's go get some Jesus."

In town, a crowd of people greeted the Darkstar's crew. Southunder fell into step with a loud and rowdy group of miners, while the rest of the crew mingled and chatted with a number of Shepherds. After a few minutes, the crowd parted, and two older men stepped through.  
"Greetings," the first man said in a smooth baritone voice. "I am Elder Michael. Are you the transport crew?"  
Raziel nodded. Elder Michael seemed satisfied. "Do you know what you're going to be transporting?"  
"Passengers," Raziel replied. "And some cargo for said passengers."

"Indeed," the second Shepherd spoke up. "Several of our student Shepherds have finished learning all they can here, and it is time for them to take their Mission to the stars."  
Southunder tapped Raziel's shoulder and whispered in his ear. "This don't make a lick of sense. Why would a crime boss' son like Rollo Antonin send us to a place full of preachers?"  
"I believe I have the answer to that," came a voice. Raziel turned to see a third man dressed in Shepherd's clothes. "I'm Shepherd Book," the man introduced himself. "I was in contact with Marcus Antonin, who needs some property moved off Haven and taken to Regina, in the Georgia System."  
Raziel faced the preacher. "What property?"

Shepherd Book led Raziel, Bex and Southunder to a secluded yard where a large pile of crates lay under a tarp. Southunder slid a crate out from under the cover and popped the lid off. Inside was a rack of assault rifles.  
" _Wo cao_ ," Southunder and Raziel said in unison, before Bex smacked them both on the back of the head. "Don't cuss in front of a preacher," she snapped.  
"It's all right," Book shrugged. "I heard a lot worse when I was out on Mission."  
Raziel picked out one of the guns from the wooden box. "What's the story with these?"

Book took the rifle back from Raziel and replaced it in the crate. "Marcus Antonin intends to mount an assault on Ezra, in order to get rid of the ruling crime boss there, Piotr Niska."  
The three spacers' eyes widened at the mention of that name. "You're kiddin', right?" Southunder asked. "That's suicide. And why're you helpin' a crime boss anyway? You're a Shepherd, ain't you?"  
"I wasn't born a Shepherd," Book countered. "Let's just say we know each other from way back. I don't approve of what Marcus Antonin is planning, but if he succeeds, a monster a lot worse than him will be gone for good, and the people of the Georgia System can sleep a little easier at night."

Raziel reached out his hand and shook Book's. "I ain't gonna ask any more questions of you, cause I don't wanna know the answers, and I know you won't tell me anyway. We'll take the job though."  
Soon afterwards, the _Darkstar_ 's hold was stuffed to the brim with crates of lethal weapons, and containers of metal bullion as a cover.  
Raziel, Alex and Robert watched the dock crews' work from where they sat on the catwalks in the cargo bay.  
"You think we'll make the job go smooth?" Robert asked.  
Raziel chuckled sarcastically. "Considering we have one of the most wanted men in the 'Verse on our crew, and we're hauling illegal weapons? Yeah, it's gonna go great."

The next morning, Raziel rolled out of his bunk and stretched languidly, raising his arms above his head and letting his duvet fall to the ground. A vent in his quarters' wall sent a fresh cool breeze blowing across his exposed skin, and Raziel held the stretch until a sharp intake of breath froze him in his tracks. " _Dear Buddha_ ," Raziel thought to himself. " _Please let that be my imagination playin' tricks_."  
Raziel cracked open his eyes. Standing next to the ladder in his quarters was a striking blonde woman dressed in black and carrying a dizzying array of bladed weapons. Raziel stood on the spot, still frozen in place, while the woman was steadily turning tomato-red.  
Some time later, Raziel found his voice. "Um."  
The woman snapped out of her embarrassment and slapped a hand over her eyes. " _Shepherd-Book-wants-to-see-you-in-the-church-in-ten-minutes_ ," she practically shouted, before climbing the ladder as fast as she could.

Raziel popped his head up from the floor hatch that led to his quarters, and jumped in surprise. The rest of the crew's heads were sticking up through their own quarters' hatches. Southunder wore a confused look, which set Raziel chuckling. The big merc swiveled his head to give his captain an amused look. "Unexpected guest?" he rumbled.  
Raziel nodded. "Looks like she checked one by one till she found me."  
"We need locks!" Alex's head called from his hatch. "She found me in just my undies!"  
Raziel, Sol and Southunder all turned red and lowered their heads back down their respective hatches. "No comment," Southunder called out.

Twenty minutes later, the _Darkstar_ crew had all made their way to the communal eating area, in varying states of wakefulness. Alex and Robert shared a newspaper and a plate of pastries, eyes bright. Bex, Southunder and Raziel sleepily spooned cereal into their mouths, blinking away sleep. However, poor Sol had fallen asleep again, head on the table and a piece of toast in her hand.  
At the head of the table, Shepherd Book got up from his seat and walked towards Raziel and the others. "Are you all ready to go?" he asked.  
Raziel nodded sleepily, as Book passed him a contract on flimsi.  
Book cleared his throat. "I assume you met a woman earlier," he prompted. Raziel turned slightly pink. "You could say that, preacher. Why?"  
"Her name is Eve," Book replied. "She's just finished her training as a Shepherdess, and it's time for her to take to the stars on her Mission. I was hoping she could come with you."

Raziel shook his head. "I don't have much use for a preacher. Religious folks only bring complications."  
"She is a warrior," Book replied. "She is skilled with all kinds of weapons, and she even has some Companion training; psychology and medicine. She would be a great asset to your crew."  
Raziel raised an eyebrow. "Why us?" he eventually asked. "There's other ships docked on this planet would be more than willing to take a preacher."  
"Let's just say I have a good feeling about your crew," Book nodded sagely. "If it doesn't work out, just come back, and I'll see what I can do about the situation."  
Raziel threw up his hands. "Fine. This just better not come back to bite me."

After breakfast, the crew returned to the _Darkstar_. Raziel was about to close up the cargo ramp when he saw a flash of blonde approaching. Eve the Shepherdess made a beeline for the black Firefly, carrying a small suitcase in her hand and a huge number of weapons on her body. Raziel inwardly groaned, but waved Eve through the inner doors. Up on the bridge, Bex started the _Darkstar_ 's engines, and the Firefly took off.  
"So this is the passenger dorm," Raziel pointed as Eve listened intently. "Choose any bunk you like. The galley is upstairs, and the bridge and crew quarters are off-limits to you. We don't want any repeats of last night, do we?"  
Eve blushed tomato-red again, and darted into a bunk. Raziel smirked and walked off to the bridge. This was going to be interesting.

 _Author's Notes:  
We have a full crew now. The story really gets going in the next chapter. I took a short break to come up with ideas for story arcs, as well as pump out another chapter of my other story, The Infamous Prom Catastrophe. Have a read and a review of that too.  
Next chapter should be ready soon.  
-the Seacopath_


	9. Chapter 8: Transfer

**Chapter 8: Transfer**

 _Author's Notes:  
I re-did this chapter because I didn't like the way the last version was going. I'm still going to use Tatyana and the Daughters of War, just later. Don't judge me for the song choice. I wanted to use a song that would piss off a religious person. Younger readers, don't listen to it when your parents are around. Anyway:_

 _Song: XXXtentacion – "Look at Me"  
_ Raziel relaxed on the bridge as the _Darkstar_ broke Haven's atmo, headed for the dead space between the Blue Sun and Georgia systems. His blue hair flashed in the bridge's lights as he nodded his head to the beat of the Earth-That-Was music pounding on the stereo.  
A minute later, Robert poked his head onto the bridge. "I love this song," he grinned. "It is a bit foul-mouthed though."  
Raziel smirked. "This is a boat full of heathens, so I figure why not play music to fit that?"  
"Ah," Robert nodded. "This is about the Shepherd on board."

"I hate religiosity at the best of times," Raziel scowled. "It's all over the 'Verse; folks tellin' us to be Buddhist or Christian or _gou-se-_ knows-what-else. Now I got a gorram preacher on board wasting oxygen, and I ain't been convinced she should stay. So let me have a little fun."  
A second later, Raziel froze as he heard said preacher's voice singing along. Eve paused in the middle of the corridor as she noticed Raziel and Robert sticking their heads out of the bridge door, staring.  
"What?" she asked innocently. "It's catchy."

Later, Raziel hit the intercom to call Southunder to his watch on the bridge. _"Southunder_ ," his voice echoed through the ship, " _Report to the bridge for your three hours of staring out the window and keepin' us all from exploding. God be with you._ "  
Raziel paused. The intercom was clearly malfunctioning. A second later, Southunder's reply came through. " _Shi a, Cap'n. Have a blessed day._ "  
Raziel narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath.  
"PREACHER! GET UP HERE AND FIX MY SHIP! NOW!" he hollered.

The next few days, Raziel and Eve were at each other's throats, as they each tried to one-up the other in their newfound religious prank war. Eve built a massive cross out of metal scrap from the cargo bay and hung it in the bridge. In response, Raziel painted satanic symbols on Eve's pillows. Eve replaced the music in the ship's jukebox with gospel songs, and Raziel retaliated by drinking Eve's entire keg of sacramental wine. Several days later, amidst huge frustration from the rest of the crew, the _Darkstar_ finally approached Regina. Raziel prepared to take the ship into atmo. A short bumpy ride later, and the black Firefly cruised through the cloud layer, towards a small farming town. Raziel pulled back on the controls, slowing the _Darkstar_ to a hover. On the ground, a dockhand shot up a green flare, and Raziel gently lowered the _Darkstar_ to the earth.

In the middle of town, Raziel and the crew were led to a bar by a heavily armed thug. The bar was set up in a small, nondescript building made of packed earth and wood. The mercenary pointed down the stairs into the bar building, and Raziel ducked inside, followed by Bex, Southunder and the others. The bar was deserted except for the bartender and a man in an expensive-looking suit.  
"Who's Raziel?" the suit-wearer asked, not looking up from his newspaper.  
Raziel stepped forward. "I am."  
"Good." Suit-and-Tie looked up. "I'm obviously not Marcus Antonin, but I'm here representing him. And as long as you have Book's reference to back you up, Marcus says you're good to trust."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Raziel nodded. "We got your metal, and we're ready to sign for it and get off this rock before the shooting starts."  
Suit-and-Tie nodded. "I have some contacts on Beaumonde who are looking for some folks to pull a few jobs."  
"Would this be Fanty and Mingo?" Southunder spoke up. "They're good bosses."  
Raziel nodded. "We'll be in touch."

The _Darkstar_ cruised along on her voyage to Beaumonde. So far, the journey had been a smooth one. Eve had gotten the message that no more religious pranks would be tolerated, after Raziel had threatened to space her. The preacher in question was quietly reading her bible to Sol and Robert in the galley while Alex cooked. In his bunk, Raziel read through a shipping manifest for a past job, running calculations on the computer next to him. A few minutes later, Southunder stuck his head down through the bunk hatch. "The twins called," the big merc rumbled. "They got the call from Antonin, and they're waitin' on your reply." As Southunder spoke, Raziel's Cortex unit started ringing.

Raziel took the unit and answered the call. "Hello?"

A voice answered him in a thick accent. "Is this Raziel Tyler?"

"Might be," Raziel replied. Who's asking?"

The voice replied. "We have a mutual friend. He tells us you'd be good to trust with a beginner-level job. Is he wrong?"

"No," Raziel continued. "I need some more details though."

After a moment, the voice came back on. "Come to the Maidenhead Bar, on Beaumonde, and we'll be happy to meet you."

"Will do," Raziel replied. "See you boys in a few days."

With that, Raziel hit the thrusters, and the _Darkstar_ took off, burning for Beaumonde.

The _Darkstar_ rested on the landing pad in Beaumonde's capital. The crew was waiting on Fanty and Mingo to send details for the job, and the ship was powered down into her night cycle. Sol snoozed softly in her hammock in the engine room, and the sounds of weightlifting echoed from the cargo bay where Southunder was putting himself through his brutal workout.

Bex strolled along the corridor leading to the bridge, listening to the low purring of the ship's reactor core. Staring towards the bridge, Bex only looked down when her foot touched cloth. A shirt lay on the floor outside the open hatch leading down to Raziel's bunk, and one of Raziel's boots was wedged in the ladder's rungs. Bex sighed, picked up the clothes, and climbed down into Raziel's quarters. Raziel had decorated his room in varying shades of black and blue. A poster of a sleek hover car hung on one wall, a set of speakers lay on the desk, and a model of a Firefly rested on a shelf.

Scanning the room, Bex saw Raziel lying asleep and shirtless on his bed, facing her. "Hey, you forgot your clothes," Bex whispered playfully. But as she walked closer, Raziel turned over in his sleep. Bex dropped the clothes and gasped in horror.

Raziel's back was a mutilated mess of long, deep crisscrossing scars and burns. Some wounds looked old, while others were angry red and swollen. With a shock, Bex realized the injuries had been made with all manner of instruments, from a serrated knife, to a red-hot cable. Moving closer, Bex reached out and gently felt a deep, raw-looking scar running up Raziel's spine. As her hand and gaze moved up, Bex froze. Raziel was awake, and staring at her with one bright silver eye. Bex snatched her hand back and bolted up the ladder as fast as she could. In the corridor, Bex slumped against the wall, her mind reeling, staring at the hatch to Raziel's bunk. After a minute, Raziel's hand emerged from the hatch, and he pointed downwards.

Bex shakily got to her feet, and slowly made her way down Raziel's ladder. She couldn't look him in the eye.

"I'm guessing you want some answers as to why my back looks like road kill," Raziel eventually said. Bex just nodded. Raziel sat back on his bed against the wall, cleared his throat and began to speak.

"I grew up on Ariel, in the Core," Raziel began. "My family was stupidly rich, but I didn't know why till I was eight, and I left when the Unification War had started. Turns out my father made experimental weapons technologies." Raziel grimaced. "Any way you could think to kill a man, my father had done it, and he slept well every night."

Bex sat and listened as Raziel continued his story. "I got the oldest scar on my back from my father. I was eight, and my father caught me looking at a file about this new weapon he was making. It looked like a little silver stick with two blue ends." Raziel shuddered. "I didn't even know what it was at the time, but for my trouble, my father took a breadknife to me. The bastard could do that to an eight-year-old, and not care."

Bex's eyes widened, as Raziel continued. "Since then, if I stepped out of line, I was in for another cut. I also took some that were meant for my siblings." Raziel pointed to a nasty-looking burn. "My sister knocked over a pot on the stove, but I took the blame. Dear old Dad sizzled me with that same pot."

"Why didn't you leave?" Bex asked in revulsion.

"Oh, I did." Raziel replied casually. "I was out the door as soon as I turned sixteen, and in a pilot's chair a year later. My teacher gave me the call sign Archangel cause of my name, and cause she said I flew like one. I ended up flying in the war, and I met Southunder, Monty, and you. Course, that was after I got captured."

Raziel continued his tale. "I got shot down only once. And when I was, I crash-landed right in the middle of an Alliance prison camp. The commanders must have pissed themselves laughing, when the Archangel crashed down, practically gift-wrapped." Raziel shook his head. "Anyway, that's where I got the rest of those lovely little scratches. Seems those boys didn't take kindly to me shootin' down hundreds of their ships."

A change seemed to come over Raziel. "That camp was where I met Southunder. He was the only Independent Commando they'd ever captured, and they only got him by puttin' him in the sights of an orbital cannon when he was half-dead from shrapnel wounds. He fixed me up every time the purple-bellies got in a murdering mood. After three months of torture and bad food, I was about ready to give up, but Southunder broke every last Browncoat out of that prison."

"How'd he do it?" Bex asked.

"I broke into the Commander's office," came a voice. "I dragged him out when he was in the middle of a gorram bubble bath." Southunder's head appeared, hanging down from Raziel's bunk hatch. "At the time, I had half my arm and head blown off from shrapnel," he continued. "So when the purple-bellies saw me drag their Commander outside to the execution block, rip off his gorram head and piss down his throat, all with one arm gone and bleeding from Buddha-knows how many holes, the purple cowards just dropped their guns and let us walk out." Southunder grunted, and withdrew his head.

"What he said," Raziel finished.

Bex sat back. "How come you never gave up?"

Raziel gritted his teeth. "Because if I gave up, that means my father would have won."

Bex stood up and hugged Raziel. "Well, now we're a crew, we'll look out for each other. And I'll make sure you don't get no more scars like that, Captain."

Southunder called down. "Cap'n, the twins called! They're expectin' us!"

Raziel got up and climbed the ladder, smiling at Bex on the way up. "Let's go make some money," he winked.

 _Song: T-Pain – "Bottles" ft. Detail  
_ The Maidenhead was a large, dark and crowded bar. Alliance troops were scattered around, as well as random people who seemed to have wandered in off the street. Raziel felt his hair rise on his arms, as he searched for his contacts. Bex had camouflaged herself as well as possible, and was making her way to the bar. Earth-that-Was music blasted over the patrons, the bass-line rattling glasses on tables.

Raziel eventually found who he was looking for: a gentleman in a suit sitting in a booth with two identical twins. Raziel approached the table cautiously, and the suited man quickly stood up to block his path.

"State your business, friend," the man said in a concise tone.

Raziel made eye contact with the twins. "I'm here for business," he replied. "Specifically with these two gentlemen, so if you wouldn't mind lettin' me on through."

"He's fine," one twin piped up. "Raziel Tyler, I presume?" asked the other.

"Fanty, and Mingo," Raziel grinned. "I'm Raziel. And I was led to believe through a mutual acquaintance that you two might have some work for me, in the general vicinity of Ariel and Londinium?"

The twins nodded together. "Our client," Mingo began, "needs some property transferred from his factory here on Beaumonde,"

"And taken to a plantation on Greenleaf, in Red Sun," Fanty finished.

"I think we can do some business," Raziel smiled. "I'm headin' to Red Sun within a day anyway, so it's no trouble. What's the payout?"

"Ten thousand credits," the twins said in unison.

Raziel's eyes widened. "And for that price, what kind of trouble are we expecting?"

"The cargo's expensive, is all," Fanty grinned. "And the price we gave you is after we take forty percent of the fee," Mingo smirked.

Raziel sat back in the chair. "I like that you boys are up front about this," he remarked. "I'll take the job. My ship is on Landing Pad 6, a black Firefly by the name of _Darkstar._ "

"We know," the twins said together.

As Raziel was about to leave however, things spiraled out of control.

"Fantastic and Mingojerry Rample!" came a shout. "You are hereby bound by law, on charges of smuggling!" An Alliance officer had knocked out the man in the suit, and was pointing a pistol at each twin.

"Easy, now," Mingo cautioned the officer. "We can discuss this, like men."

"Shut up, scum," the officer spat. "It's bad enough I gotta arrest one of you, two is jus' plain unfair."

"Sit down," Fanty motioned to the officer, who shook his head and stood across from the twins. Raziel scooted over to sit beside Mingo. Fanty gave Raziel a little wink.

The officer continued reading the twins their rights, unaware of Raziel slowly sliding his pistol out of his holster under the table. "You and your brother will be brought before the court of Beaumonde on charges of smuggling illeg-"

Raziel pulled the trigger on his pistol; the shot punched through the table, and blew straight through the officer's head. Every head turned.

"Shenme ta ma de (what the fuck)!" the twins chorused, as the officer crashed backwards, blood and brains oozing out the hole in his head. "We wanted you to punch him, not shoot him!" "Sorry." Raziel said sheepishly, "It worked in a vid I saw once." The scraping of chairs cut off any further talk. Every Alliance uniform in the room, plus a few mercenaries, had gotten up. "Ta ma de (fuck)," Raziel muttered. "Bex! Let's do this, but don't kill anyone you don't have to!" he called. Bex winked at Raziel from the wall, where she had smashed the security camera. Raziel waited a second, holstered his pistol, and charged into the mass of bodies. The fight that ensued was legendary for its severity. Raziel waded through bodies of those unfortunate enough to get in his way, punching out people with every step. At one point, a chair smashed across Raziel's back, but the man who swung the chair ended up with the chair leg through his own shoulder. Bottles smashed, people yelled, guns blasted, bones broke, chairs crumbled, and fists flew. Through it all, Bex leaped and twisted with the grace of a dancer, each swipe of her claws spilling blood and lacerating flesh, leaving people cursing on the floor. Raziel and Bex ended up taking their leave when the bartender pulled out the biggest shotgun Raziel had ever seen. Fanty and Mingo had long since scarpered, but as he left, Raziel picked up a note stapled to the door. "We've wired you half your payment," it read. "Delivery must be within eight days. Next time give us a Wave instead. Signed, Fanty & Mingo." Walking back to the _Darkstar_ , covered in blood and wood splinters, Raziel and Bex shared a quick laugh. "We still got it," Raziel grinned.

Soon afterwards, the _Darkstar_ lifted off, and left Beaumonde behind.


	10. Chapter 9: Pickups and Past Memories

**Chapter 9: Pickups and Past Memories**

 _Author's Notes: There's a new character in this chapter, and I'm sorry if I mangle his language too badly, but I don't speak it, so I had to ask Mr. Google for help.  
Anyway:_

 _The Foundry, Beaumonde_

 _Song: Panic! At The Disco – "The Emperor's New Clothes" (Anti-Nightcore)  
_ Beaumonde was a world of cities, and under the mass of grey concrete, the Foundry glowed red, a roaring, smog-belching under-city furnace full of factories and manufacturing facilities. Gigantic holes reaching down into the under-city spewed smoke and fumes into the sky, so thick that the stars were blacked out. Raziel aimed the _Darkstar_ for one of these vents. The black Firefly soared past the busy air traffic lanes, flying gracefully down between mountainous skyscrapers and busy transport hubs.

At the edge of the chasm, Raziel hauled back on the controls, stopping the _Darkstar_ 's forward movement. Beside him, Bex nervously consulted the view on the screen from the ventral camera. "You sure we're okay goin' down there, Cap'n?"  
"This is where Fanty and Mingo said to go," Raziel replied calmly, decreasing the engines' thrust. The _Darkstar_ 's nose dropped, and she began to descend into the cloud of rising smog.

The _Darkstar_ cleared the edge of the opening and soared away from the choking smog, over the under-city. Everywhere, red and orange light shone, giving the under-city a hellish pallor. In the midst of the smoke and fires, the _Darkstar_ flew overhead; her blue engines a spark of lightning in this fire-driven world. Gigantic machines crawled, spun, pumped and roared, performing their ceaseless tasks, from spider-like cargo cranes to behemoth mining machines, endlessly expanding the under-city and strengthening the over-city's support struts.

In the distance, Raziel spied the factory Fanty and Mingo had given him the coordinates to. The huge building towered over most others, a slab of concrete and brick that belched thick black smoke. Even inside the starship, the noise from outside was deafening. Raziel angled the _Darkstar_ 's nose towards a patch of flat ground outside the building. The ship shuddered as the thrusters struggled to operate in the choking smog, but Raziel was able to guide the Firefly to a moderately graceful landing outside the factory.

In the cargo bay, Raziel addressed the crew. "Sol, Robert, Alex, Eve; y'all stay upstairs and seal off all the doors. Bex, Southunder and I will head into the factory and grab the merchandise."  
"Why do we need to keep the doors sealed?" Alex asked.  
Raziel gestured to the window set into the cargo doors, which was currently blackened with soot. "You see the air quality out there? I ain't contaminating the ship's air scrubbers with that _gou se_. We load the cargo, vent the bay, and open the oxygen supply again when we get out of the under-city. Each of y'all grab an exo-pack from the crate."

Each crewmember except Southunder reached into a crate on the floor and pulled out a full-face mask attached to a small rectangular filter unit. Sol looked up at the big merc curiously. "Where's your mask?"  
"Don't need one," Southunder shrugged. As he finished speaking, Southunder clamped his teeth together. Two pieces of metal expanded from the massive cyborg's gums, locking together to form what was unmistakably a gas mask filter. Everyone was staring at Southunder, wearing expressions ranging from astonishment on Sol's face, to open revulsion in Eve's case.  
"What?" Southunder asked in a clear voice coming through a speaker on his faceplate. "It's handy bein' me sometimes."

A few minutes later, the _Darkstar_ 's cargo ramp descended. The under-city's filthy air rushed in to occupy the vacuum in the cargo bay, filling the space with a thin grey haze. Raziel, Bex and Southunder stepped out onto the landing pad, and their silhouettes quickly disappeared into the fog. Within a few seconds, they had completely disappeared from view. Eve hit the button on the bay control console, shutting the airlock and venting the atmosphere.  
As they walked, Raziel kept his Hellhounds in his hands, pointed down at the floor. Southunder held an assault rifle close to his chest. Bex's claws were out, and she was nervously clicking them together.

 _Song: Tom Waits – "Underground"  
_ Raziel pushed open the factory's enormous door and led Bex and Southunder through. Even in the building's foyer, exposed machinery moved. Overhead, an intricate system of gears rotated and meshed together, performing some unknown task. Bex approached a desk, where a robotic secretary manned the systems. Eight arms swiveled on a cylindrical torso, and a porcelain-like face stared blankly at Bex.  
 _"State your business,_ " the robot said in a flat monotone.  
"We're here on business for the Rample twins," Raziel interrupted. "Is there a foreman?"  
The robot nodded. " _I will tell Mister Maarten you are here. You are expected_."

A few minutes later, a red light grew brighter, shining down on the foyer floor. The crew looked up to see something resembling a spider descending from the high mechanical ceiling. Many limbs flexed and moved as the thing lowered itself to the ground in a cloud of metal dust and smoke. When the cloud cleared, an enormous man stood in the foyer, strapped up in a mechanical rig with six arms and two augmented leg braces. "Who's the captain here?" the man asked in a thick accent. Raziel stepped forward and held out his hand. "I'm Raziel. We're here on some business for-"  
"Fanty and Mingo," Maarten interrupted. His suit hissed, and the back opened up. Maarten climbed out of the spider rig and shook Raziel's hand. "I've got their merchandise loaded onto a hover-truck. Where's your transport, _boykie_?"  
"Just parked outside," Raziel gestured. "It's the black Firefly; pretty hard to miss."

Maarten nodded and turned to Bex, looking her up and down. " _Fassinerende_ , (fascinating)" he mused. "You must tell me who did such _verstommende werk_ (astonishing work) on you. I would _bettal 'n höe prys_ (pay a high price) to find out."  
Maarten gave Bex a final glance, leaving her looking mildly confused and embarrassed, before he turned to Southunder. " _Jou werk hoef nie eksamen te doen nie_ (your work needs no examination)," Maarten hissed. "It was clearly done by that _psigopatiese fokken slagtur_ (psychopathic fucking butcher) Voltram Sykes."  
"You know Sykes?" the big merc gasped through his mask.  
Maarten shook his head. " _Geen_ (no)," he replied. "I thought I did. Come up to my office. We still have some time before the cargo finishes loading." With that, Maarten climbed into his spider-like suit and began rising back towards the ceiling. He gestured to an elevator, and the three crewmembers piled in.

In Maarten's office, the factory boss poured a few measures of what looked like white wine. "Care for some _witblits_ (white lightning)?" he asked the others. "It was a traditional drink in my ancestors' homeland."  
Southunder reached out with his flesh arm and took the offered glass. Raziel and Bex shook their heads. "We gotta fly out of here again," Raziel explained. "Best to do it with a clear head."  
" _Meer vir ons_ (more for us)," Maarten shrugged. "You might want to sit down for this though."  
"Gorram, that's good stuff," Southunder coughed. "I see why you call it White Lightning."  
Maarten chuckled, draining his own drink. "It's pleasant, but my story won't be, so hold on, _boykie_."

Maarten sat down at his desk after shedding his spider suit. "So, based on your clothes, your attitudes, and the fact that your ship is a _vuurvliegie_ (Firefly), I'd say you're Browncoats. Am I right?"  
Raziel and Southunder nodded. "We were," Southunder rumbled. "Bex didn't fight, but she's Independent through and through."  
" _Goeie_ (good)," Maarten nodded. "Alliance don't care much to hear the story of one of their _grootste fokken-ups_ (biggest fuck-ups). I knew Voltram Sykes," he sighed after a while. "I used to work alongside him, before everything went wrong."

"You mean before things like me started happening?" Southunder spoke up.  
Maarten shook his head. "No, before that. We were partners in an Alliance lab in the Blue Sun system. I was working on a machine to make it easy to explore worlds that were _onbewoonbaar_ (uninhabitable). I finished my work, and now people can buy exo-suits from almost every good machine shop in the civilized 'Verse."  
"That's all well and good," Bex interrupted, "but what does that have to do with us?"  
Maarten drained another measure of alcohol and cleared his throat. "Sykes got it in his head that he could make people immortal. _Onsterflike_. Naturally, the government heard about it, and _dit het 'n paar Alliansiehane baie moeilik gemaak_ (that made some Alliance cocks very hard indeed)."

Maarten spat on the ground before continuing. "Ever since Sykes had his little idea, that was all we were allowed to work on. It wasn't long before we realized just _hoe ver in die hassholte_ (how far down the rabbit hole) Sykes was willing to go for his research. Scientists started going missing, some left outright, and even Sykes was changing."  
"Changing how?" Raziel asked.  
Maarten shuddered. " _Self-experimentasie_ (Self experimentation). I left work early one night, because my wife was having a baby. When I went back to work a week later, I found a scene straight out of a horror show. Sykes' limbs were on the floor. His arms and legs were chopped off, and his chest and head were bolted into some kind of robot body. But the worst part was, he wasn't the only one."

Maarten slammed his empty glass down on his desk. " _Dankie Buddha_ (thank Buddha)," he spat. "Thank Buddha I left, otherwise I could have been one of those soulless… _things_ in that lab with Sykes."  
"Why are you telling us this?" Bex asked.  
"Because, Southunder," Maarten scowled. "I know who you are. I know what Sykes had you do. And if anyone deserves a chance to take down that _seun van 'n siekte-gery hoer en 'n rewer_ (son of a disease-ridden whore and a Reaver), it's you. I can't do it myself; I'm too old, and I've got _kinders_ (kids) at home. But I know you can get revenge for yourself, and justice for all those poor _seuns van tewe_ (sons of bitches) he murdered in cold blood."

Southunder looked away. "I s'pose you're right," he said after a long moment. "I don't remember much when Sykes had a hold of me, but from what I do remember, I know he deserves everything that's comin' to him."  
Raziel cleared his throat. "We'd have to discuss this with the rest of the crew, but for the record, I'm with you on this one Jonny. We're brothers. If you want to get your revenge, I'll be right beside you."  
"Thanks, Captain," Southunder smiled. Bex cleared her throat. "So, what now?"  
Raziel stood up and began pacing. "We still need to complete the delivery for Fanty and Mingo. After that, we should go to Hera, resupply and make a plan of attack. No sense goin' in there half-cocked."  
" _Sterkte aan jou_ (good luck to you)," Maarten grinned, shaking Raziel, Southunder and Bex's hands at the same time with his suit's three right arms.

Exiting the factory, Raziel checked the state of his exo-pack's filter. The reading on the tiny screen glowed orange. "Let's get to the ship quick," he pointed. The three spacers ran along the concrete landing pad to where the _Darkstar_ waited, dripping from the under-city's greyish rain. Raziel stood next to the cargo door and hit the intercom button. "Sol, we're back," he called. "Vent the bay and open the door for us!"  
A second later, the Firefly's cargo door crashed down with a solid _boom_. Raziel boarded the ship, followed by Bex and Southunder. As the door shut, Raziel and Bex headed for the doorway to the upper corridor and the bridge. A few minutes later, the _Darkstar_ lifted off and headed for the hole in the under-city's roof; for the open sky visible in flashes through the smog.

In open space, Raziel set the ship to autopilot, and jumped down the stairs to the cargo bay. It was then that Raziel got an appreciation for the size of this cargo. Eight enormous shapes stood in a line down the middle of the bay, covered in black plastic to guard against Beaumonde's smog and air contaminants. Beside the line, a pile of boxes took up what little space there was left. Inside the crates were machines that resembled combine harvester attachments. Raziel looked through other crates until Alex's voice came on the intercom. " _All crew, all crew, lunch is served._ "

In the galley, everyone sat around the dining table, enjoying Alex's latest creation. The chef had gone shopping on Beaumonde, and he'd really outdone himself this time. In front of each crewmember was a cut of real beef; so tender it could be pulled apart with a fork. The meat rested on a small pile of mashed potatoes and was lightly covered in red wine gravy, and garnished with green vegetables. Sol and Southunder were absent from the table; Southunder was taking watch, and Sol had taken him some food. The table was silent except for silverware clinking, mouths chewing, and the occasional sigh of culinary contentment.

As the crew finished eating, Raziel got up from the table and opened an intercom link with the bridge, so Southunder and Sol could hear the conversation.  
"Listen up, y'all," Raziel began. "While Southunder, Bex and I were in the factory, the boss told us a tale of fairly epic proportions. It turns out we may have a line on the evil _hun dan_ that turned Southunder into a cyborg, who is still at large."  
Eyes widened around the table as Raziel continued. "Southunder is in a mind to go after this guy, and I'm in a mind to go with him."  
"Who is this person?" Eve spoke up.  
Raziel gave the preacher an intense look. "Voltram Sykes." At the sound of the name, Robert gasped. "I read about him! He's insane! He was a scientist who went _feng zi_ and butchered his whole research team!"

"How does Southunder know about him?" Eve asked in a low voice.  
"He made my arm," Southunder's voice interrupted the conversation. The big merc stomped into the galley. "Sol's on watch, Cap'n," he addressed Raziel's unspoken question. "Figured I shouldn't miss bein' the topic of conversation."  
"Right," Raziel nodded, before addressing the room again. "This mission is entirely optional, and hose of you that can't or won't partake don't have to. After we drop the cargo on Greenleaf, we're heading to Hera for a resupply. Anyone that wants out of this mission, Hera is your port of harbor."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm in," Robert spoke up. "I know how dangerous Sykes is, and if we're going after him, you folks are most likely gonna need a medic."  
" _Can't argue with that logic_ ," Sol said through the intercom. " _Someone's gotta keep this boat in the air too_."  
Alex raised his hand. "I ain't much good at fightin', but I can help Robert patch everyone up if'n they get shot or stabbed or whatnot."  
Eve cleared her throat. "I'm a Shepherd and a warrior. You will need extra blades."  
Raziel turned towards the door to the bridge. "Looks like we're all on board. Next stop; Hera."

 _Author's Notes:  
We're getting into some thickening of the plot, here! I'm excited.  
At the start of the next chapter will be a view from a different perspective. For those of you that get squicked easily, just skip ahead a ways.  
Next chapter should be ready within a week or so.  
-the Seacopath_


	11. Chapter 10: The Technomancer (Warning)

**Chapter 10: The Technomancer**

 _Author's Notes:  
This is a much shorter chapter than usual, but a word of warning; it is __very_ _disturbing. Any squeamish readers might want to wait for the next chapter. Don't worry, you won't miss anything crucial._

 _Song: Atrium Carceri – "In Chaos Eternal"_

Voltram Sykes paced in his private quarters, holding a hand to his face, or what was left of it, anyway. A small robot zipped towards him, carrying an emergency kit. Sykes dipped a hand into a jar on the tray and lifted out a handful of foul-smelling grey sludge. Sykes pressed his slime-covered hand to the side of his face and almost groaned with relief at the sensations of pins and needles in his left ear, which had threatened to fall off earlier. In the mirror, Sykes inspected himself. His orange eyes glowed inside deep sockets in his skull-like face. A black metal mask covered his nose and mouth. Wires and cables protruded from his head in place of hair, idly moving and twitching.  
Sykes looked down at the container in his mechanical hand, and scowled. The jar was nearly empty.

Listening to the broadcasted command from Sykes' mind, the little robot crossed the room and pulled open a heavy metal door. Sykes strolled through into the chamber on the other side.  
Rows of humans hung from hooks like so many butchered hogs. Some had eyes and mouths stitched shut with heavy black twine. Others were missing limbs and fingers. In their kaleidoscope of agony, one thing was constant. Every single human in that room was alive. Sykes strolled past a man whose face had been peeled away like an orange skin. Maggots writhed in the expanse of infected, bleeding flesh. As he approached, the man's lidless eyes began rolling madly in his head, and he tried to scream. All that came out was a rasping gurgle, because Sykes had long since disconnected the man's vocal chords.

 _"_ _Why_?" came a voice from somewhere in the depths of the room. Sykes followed the source of the noise to a small cage. The woman inside the cage was missing both arms and legs, supported by a web of straps keeping her torso upright. What remained of her body was crawling with mechanical spiders, burrowing in and out of exposed flesh. The woman spoke again, every word an effort. " _Why are you doing this to us_?"  
Sykes reached out with one robotic hand, slashing the woman's face with a scalpel. "For the advancement of humanity," he rasped in his electronic voice, before walking away.

Reaching the end of the line, Sykes stopped. On a table was a large glass jar. Inside the jar floated a shapeless grey mass crossed through with black lines; human brains, stitched together to form one collective mass of neural tissue. Behind the patchwork brain, a row of tables held more humans. There was no need for more than basic restraints. The bodies on the gurneys did nothing but occasionally twitch. Glowing cables snaked from the base of their empty skulls, running to a terminal underneath the glass jar. Sykes examined a body closely, and cut into its arm with a blade on his hand. The body he'd sliced didn't move, but the other twelve bodies on gurneys thrashed against the leather straps holding them there.

Sykes walked back through the rows of unfortunate souls to a man with grotesquely swollen legs, each one easily two feet across. The man spasmed and pulled against his restraints, and were it not for the stitching over his mouth, he would have been howling in agony. Sykes bent down and twisted a metal tap embedded in the side of the man's left leg. The tap immediately started dripping the same grey sludge from the emergency kit. Sykes placed the jar underneath the tap and walked to a large metal box. Through a small window, a man could be seen huddling on the floor, his naked flesh smoking. Four enormous elements on the room's ceiling sent wave after wave of crushing heat down on the man inside. Sykes turned to the temperature gauge on the wall, showing ninety-four degrees. "Fascinating," he mused.

Just then, a message popped up on his inner retinal display. " _Test Subject 43 located._ " Sykes stopped in astonishment. After years of searching, he had finally found his best work yet. Sykes quickly returned to the jar he'd left behind, turned off the tap on the man's bloated leg, and calmly left the room. The experiments were coming along nicely, but there was still much to prepare for Subject 43's return.

 _Author's Notes:  
So, that was Voltram Sykes. Creepy bastard, if I do say so myself. _

_His appearance was inspired by a combination of entities:  
-The Scarecrow from Arkham Knight  
-A Dark Eldar Haemonculus from Warhammer 40,000_

 _I hope I made a sufficiently terrifying and horrible villain.  
Leave feedback, please! It really helps.  
-the Seacopath_


	12. Chapter 11: Salvage and Scraps

**Chapter 11: Salvage and Scraps**

 _Song: David Helpling – "Sticks and Stones" (432 Hz Tuning)_

The _Darkstar_ cruised through space, heading for Greenleaf. The ship's lights were low, as her night cycle was in effect. The usual conversation and footsteps were absent from the ship's corridors. Raziel sat watch on the bridge, an energy drink in one hand and one of Bex's antique books in the other.  
" _Where am I to go_?" he read softly, " _when I have all the world behind me, and no stars left to see?_ "  
Raziel's voice carried down the corridor to the open door of Bex's quarters, where she sat in her huge leather reading chair. Bex smiled as she recalled the words whispering down to her. " _I'll go on my way again, to see that which I may have missed. And when I have seen everything, and met every new face and old, I will become more than myself. And on that day, I will be eternal._ "

Behind the closed galley doors, Alex quietly waltzed around the kitchen area, preparing the next week's worth of food to put in the ship's stores before the crew made planetfall. The radio on the countertop beside the chef played a slow Earth-That-Was melody. Alex gently sang along as he stirred a pot, hummed while he peeled potatoes, and tapped his feet to the beat of the song and tapped a knife he used to chop cubes of sim-beef. As Alex cooked, the delicious aromas wafted around the ship's corridors through the vents.

Robert cleaned the medical bay; disposing of the syringes he'd given the other crewmembers their vaccinations with. The surfaces gleamed spotless and white, the medical table was covered in a fresh sheet, and the medicines were all stored neatly on their respective shelves and in cabinets.  
Sol, Southunder and Eve all slept soundly, Eve in the passenger dorm and Sol in the engine room. Southunder had crashed in a beanbag chair next to the infirmary.

Back on the bridge, Raziel looked over to a light that had started flashing. On a screen, the scanner showed the _Darkstar_ was approaching a wrecked ship. The vessel's lights were all dark, and there seemed to be no signs of life aboard. The ship was a Corvette-class cargo hauler; easily three times the size of the _Darkstar_ , with a cylindrical hull, hammerhead-shaped bridge, and a cluster of ten main engines. "Bex," Raziel called. "Come to the bridge."  
A minute later, Bex jumped up the steps and sat in the gunner's chair next to Raziel. "What is it?"  
"Looks like a derelict up ahead," Raziel explained. "You up for a bit of salvage?"  
"I'll go wake the others," Bex nodded.

Within a few minutes, the crew was assembled in the galley, in various degrees of sleepiness. Raziel sat at the head of the dining table and cleared his throat. "We're comin' up on a wrecked ship. Looks to be a Corvette-class cargo hauler."  
Southunder yawned. "And lemme guess; we're bein' all good Samaritan-like and makin' sure those poor abandoned cargo crates get to a good home for a good price?"  
"Got it in one," Raziel replied. "I'm assuming you'd like to stretch your legs, Southunder. Anyone else?"  
Raziel was surprised when Robert and Sol's hands went up.  
Robert shrugged. "If there's any survivors, I can be of help."  
"And I can pull out any parts we need, or we can sell," Sol piped up.

Within a few minutes, Raziel, Southunder, Sol and Robert were dressed to the nines in space suits. Bex was on the bridge, guiding the _Darkstar_ closer to the wrecked ship. Bex picked up the radio and called the other vessel, reading the name stenciled on the hull. "Corvette-class transport _Stingray_ , this is Firefly-class transport _Darkstar_. Do you copy?"  
The radio remained silent. Bex pressed the ship's intercom.  
Down in the cargo bay, Raziel Southunder, Robert and Sol stood in the ship's airlock, carrying a variety of tools and weapons. All of them looked up at the sound of Bex's voice.  
" _Everyone, I've hailed the other ship, but no one seems to be there to pick up the call. Best to stay on guard anyway._ "  
"Will do, Bex," Robert replied.

The _Darkstar_ approached the _Stingray_ , using her RCS thrusters to guide her to the Corvette's airlock. With a dull _clunk_ and a hiss, the two ships locked themselves together, the _Darkstar_ 's remaining momentum giving the other ship a small nudge.  
In the airlock, the compression status light switched from red to green. Southunder stepped forward and hauled the airlock door open.

The _Stingray_ 's corridors were deathly silent. After ten minutes of searching, not a single sign of life had been found. However, one thing was clear to Raziel and the others; whoever was on board didn't go without a fight. Bullet holes decorated the walls, and dead light tubes swung from the ceiling. Sol ran her hand over a nasty-looking bloodstain on a wall. "What do you think happened here?" she asked worriedly.  
"I ain't rightly sure," Raziel replied. "But whatever happened seems to be long since past." Raziel's point was pushed home when the crew looked down at the inch-thick layer of dust on the deck grating.

Back on the _Darkstar_ , Bex checked the scanners. A quick reading on the ship showed the reactor core was still running, but something was interfering with the _Stingray_ 's systems, preventing power from running through the ship. Bex frowned and examined the red flashing blip on the screen. A second later, Bex's eyes widened in horror, and she snatched up the comms.

In the _Stingray_ 's cargo bay, Raziel and the others were busy moving crates of valuable minerals onto hover-trolleys, when Bex's panicked voice came on over the comms. " _I found what was blocking the power to the ship!_ " she exclaimed. " _It's a pirate ship with an EMP Nuke on board!_ "  
Southunder dropped the crate he was holding and snatched up his Kraken GMG. "Are there pirates on this boat?" he growled, scanning the area with his robotic eye.  
Bex came back on a second later, sounding confused. " _Wait, no. The only life signs in the halls I can see are you four._ "  
Raziel holstered his Hellhound shotguns. "Where is the pirate ship?"  
" _C Deck aft,_ " Bex replied. " _Might be worth takin' a look_."

Southunder led the way through the _Stingray_ 's halls towards the aft end of the ship, followed by Sol and Robert, with Raziel providing a rear guard. Every so often, the four spacers passed another section of corridor covered in bullet holes and bloodstains. Southunder grimaced behind his space suit's visor. "Gorram, all this silence is just ruttin' creepifyin'. Wish somethin' would just happen already."  
"Don't say that!" Robert exclaimed, "Murphy's law says the second you-"

 _Song: T-Pain – "Panda"  
_ An air vent crashed open and a screaming form dropped down through it onto Robert's shoulders. Raziel shoved Sol out of the way and drew one of his shotguns. The black shotgun went off with a noise like a cannon, and the dark figure on top of Robert was blasted backwards several feet. Southunder hauled Robert to his feet while Raziel offered a hand to Sol.  
Suddenly, Robert's attacker leaped up, snarling, and ran for Southunder. The big merc didn't waste any time, swinging his metal arm over his head in a wide arc. The cyborg's huge hand smashed into the assailant's head and slammed it into the metal decking with a sickening _crunch_.

Silence returned, and everyone lowered their weapons. The four spacers looked down at the very dead man that had just attacked them. Southunder nudged the corpse with his boot and flipped it over. The dead man's face was destroyed, but his clothes and the rest of his body left no doubt as to what he was.  
"Oh, _gou se_ ," Southunder and Robert swore in unison. "Reavers."  
Bex came back on the comms, sounding panicked. " _Captain, there's an Alliance Cruiser comin' up on us! What do we do?_ "  
Raziel let loose an explosive torrent of furious Mandarin. "We wait for them to pass, and then we get the hell out of here. Bex, shut everythin' down. Shield the reactor." He turned toward Southunder. "I'm gonna need a concussion grenade."

On board the Alliance Cruiser _IAV Galway_ , Commander Stephen Swartz turned to his second officer. "What are we looking at here?"  
"It's a Corvette-Class cargo ship," the second officer replied. "My readings list it as the _Stingray_ , registered out of Beaumonde. A report went out a while back about a pirate attack, and then nothing since."  
"Filthy pirates," Swartz spat. "No point checking for survivors or salvageable cargo?"

On the _Stingray,_ Robert, Sol and Southunder ran down the corridors towards the airlock, hauling hover-trolleys piled high with crates. Southunder's pistol was out, in case there were any more Reavers left on the ship. Sol ran sandwiched between the doctor and the merc, her giant wrench bouncing on her back.  
Meanwhile, Raziel jumped down a set of stairs, heading towards the location of the docked pirate ship, Hellhounds raised. A Reaver smashed through a door on the left, and Raziel pulled his Hellhound's trigger without even thinking. The shotgun barked and the Reaver's head turned into red paste. Raziel ran on, hearing footsteps behind him. Reavers were starting to fill the corridor. Raziel crossed his arms and spun 360 degrees, blasting both Hellhounds. Reavers fell with big red holes in their bodies and heads.

Raziel leaped forward, firing a shell into a Reaver's chest ahead of him. The Reaver fell to the floor and thrashed around in agony. Raziel didn't even pause, shoving the Hellhound's barrel into the Reaver's mouth and pulling the trigger. The Reaver's head disintegrated and Raziel threw himself behind a door, slamming it shut. Fists began pounding on the other side of the door.

Back on board the _IAV Galway_ , Commander Swartz logged the location of the _Stingray_ onto his Cortex unit. "Put in a call to the salvage teams," he instructed a junior officer. "Let them know there's a wrecked cargo hauler in the shipping lanes."  
The officer reached for his keyboard, but before he even touched the keys, an alert popped up on the screen. "Sir, there's another ship approaching. Radiation levels are off the charts."  
Swartz's eyes widened. "Reavers."

Bex's voice came on over the comms. " _Reavers are coming! Reavers are on their ruttin' way here now! Where the hell are you, Captain?"  
_ Raziel swore. "I'm at the pirate ship docked on the lower decks. I'm gonna launch it so we can have a distraction to get outta here."  
" _Sol and Southunder are comin' to get you,_ " Bex replied. " _Sol says she can launch the pirate ship._ "  
Raziel nodded, even though he knew Bex couldn't see. "I'll be waitin'."

Southunder charged through the _Stingray_ 's corridors, followed by Sol. Southunder carried a massive assault rifle, while Sol held two machine pistols. Her giant wrench was strapped to her back, chains clanking as she ran.  
Southunder smashed a booted foot through a door, swinging it almost off its hinges. A group of Reavers turned at the sudden noise, but Southunder immediately filled the space with hot lead. Sol brought her machine pistols up and began firing. The Reavers barely got a shot off before the combined wave of bullets obliterated them.

Sol and Southunder crashed through the door Raziel had sealed. Inside the room, Raziel fiddled with a control panel. Outside the airlock, a small ship clung to the _Stingray_ 's hull, crackling with electricity. Sol wasted no time, shoving Raziel out of the way and manically typing. Raziel and Southunder turned back towards the door, hearing crazed roars and running footsteps. "You ready, Cap'n?" Southunder asked grimly.  
Raziel nodded. "Let's light 'em up."

When the first Reaver appeared, a shell from Raziel's left Hellhound took its head off. Southunder switched to triple-burst fire on the assault rifle, efficiently decimating the charging Reavers. Sol finished typing on the keyboard and slammed her hand down on a large red lever. A countdown flashed onto the airlock screen. "I got it!" she exclaimed. "Let's get back to the ship!"  
The three spacers charged back down the corridor, blasting at any Reavers left alive. Raziel laid down a withering wall of lead pellets, Southunder blasted over his head, killing Reavers from a distance, and Sol kept up a rear guard with her machine pistols, putting down any Reavers that weren't already dead.

Raziel, Southunder and Sol burst into the airlock space where the _Darkstar_ was docked. The black Firefly's door was sealed against a large group of Reavers. Raziel lit up his Hellhounds, getting the Reavers' attention. Within seconds, the airlock was full of flying lead. These Reavers were armed with crude pistols. Raziel practically danced around the airlock bay, firing his Hellhounds like a deadly dervish.  
Sol fired at a Reaver holding a crossbow. Suddenly, Southunder leaped forwards, tackling Sol off her feet. The big cyborg roared and crashed to the floor.

Bex grabbed the comms when Sol's voice came through. " _Southunder's been hit! Tell Robert to prep the med-bay!_ "  
Bex pressed the intercom and repeated Sol's instructions. A second later, the intercom crackled. " _Understood, Bex._ " In the med-bay, Robert laid a fresh sheet over the exam table and spread out his surgical instruments.  
Outside the airlock, the last Reaver fell to a cluster of buckshot from Raziel's Hellhound. Raziel hit the intercom next to the _Darkstar_ 's door. "Bex, we're clear! Let us in!"  
The cargo door descended, revealing Eve and Alex standing ready with a hover-stretcher and a machine gun. Eve and Alex rolled Southunder onto the stretcher and pulled him on board. Sol checked her watch as she ran on board and shouted up at Raziel as he ran up the stairs to the bridge. "Tell Bex to detach in two minutes!"

On the other side of the _Stingray_ , Sol's hastily-written program took effect. The docked pirate ship detached from the airlock and powered up. On autopilot, the pirate ship made a beeline for the Alliance Cruiser, priming its deadly cargo.  
On board the _Galway_ , another officer raised his voice. "Commander, the _Stingray_ just launched what looks like a small ship. It's heading for us."  
"Scan for life forms and radiation levels on board," Swartz said quickly. "If the radiation is high, there are Reavers on that ship, and we need to blast them away."

The officer shook his head. "There's no abnormal radiation or life forms. The scanner shows the ship is on a programmed route."  
Just then, every single screen turned red and alarms started blaring. Outside the _Galway_ , the other ship began glowing with a blue light. Swartz slowly took off his command cap. "Gentlemen," he addressed the crew, "Send out a mayday signal, and pray."  
At that moment, the EMP nuke on board the pirate ship detonated. A wave of blue electrical energy exploded outwards in a perfect sphere, slamming into the _Galway_ and engulfing the massive cruiser in a storm of lightning. Every light on the cruiser went dark as the EMP nuke did its deadly work, frying the ship's electrical systems beyond repair, down to the last light switch.

On the _Darkstar_ 's bridge, Bex hit the throttle. The Firefly detached from the _Stingray_ and rotated to point away from the blue lightning storm. Beside Bex, Raziel grinned. "Hit it."  
The _Darkstar_ 's stern glowed blue, and she took off like a shot into the black. Far behind, the Reaver ship arrived at the dead Alliance Cruiser, circling slowly. Raziel turned off the rear camera and squeezed Bex's shoulder. "Thanks for the save, Bex," he smiled. "Knew I could count on you."

 _Three Days Later_

Down in the medical bay, Southunder sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. The bullet wound in his ribs still ached, irritating the metal prosthetic fused to the big cyborg's bones. A knock on the med-bay door shook Southunder out of his thoughts. Sol peeked through the door and cleared her throat. "Can I come in?"  
Southunder nodded and patted a chair next to the medical table. "Somethin' on your mind?"  
Sol crossed the room and sat down next to Southunder. From where Sol sat, the bullet wound in Southunder's side stared at her, angry and red even under the bandages. The merc's shoulder socket gaped empty too, Robert having taken Southunder's metal arm.

 _Song: Te Vaka – "Ata Fou"  
_ Sol shifted uncomfortably. "Why did you take that shot for me?" she blurted out.  
Southunder shrugged one-armed, with a smirk. "You're on the crew. I'd a done the same for Raziel or anyone."  
"But you didn't," Sol countered. "You threw yourself in front of that bullet for me and left the captain wide open!"  
Southunder's smirk vanished. "You saw that, huh?"  
"I did." Sol nodded. "Why'd you do it?"  
Southunder let his head fall back onto the medical table. "I care 'bout ya, alright? I couldn't just sit there and let you get kilt."

Sol's eyes widened as Southunder pushed himself up into a sitting position. The big merc took a deep breath. "I didn't stop it, that shot woulda taken your head off."  
"You saved my life?" Sol gasped.

Southunder snapped his blue and red eyes up and locked them with Sol's green ones. "Yeah," he rumbled. "And I don't regret it none, either."  
Sol's jaw dropped. "You mean…?"  
Southunder nodded once. Sol stood up and squeezed her eyes shut. Without warning, she launched herself at the big cyborg, wrapping her arms around him in a crushing hug.

"Ow, ow, ow," Southunder groaned underneath Sol. "My ribs, Sol, my ruttin' ribs!"  
Sol hurriedly disentangled herself from Southunder and stood next to the table, blushing. "Sorry."  
"S'alright," Southunder chuckled. "S'pose I should'a seen that comin'."  
Sol grinned sheepishly. "So what now? Do we just see what happens?"  
"I guess," Southunder smiled. "But for now, come here; I've wanted to do this for a while now."  
With those words, Southunder took Sol's hand and gently pulled her close. His red eye closed, dimming the light between the two spacers. Sol held her breath for a second, but relaxed, and let her lips press to Southunder's.

Southunder slowly broke the kiss and looked at Sol, slightly worried. "You okay?" he asked.  
Sol's eyes opened and she smiled. "I'm fine," she replied. "But can you open both eyes?"  
Southunder hesitated, but eventually let his cybernetic eye open, bathing Sol's face in a soft red glow. The light from Southunder's eye faded to a single point like an LED. "It's ugly," he scowled. "Every time I see myself, I remember why I look like this. Trust me, Sol; it ain't a pretty story."

Sol reached up and laid a hand on the side of Southunder's face, where skin met titanium. "I don't know how this happened," she said carefully, "But I still think you're handsome. And if you don't wanna tell me, I won't dig."  
"I can't tell you," Southunder said dejectedly. "You'll hate me."  
Sol leaned in and kissed Southunder's forehead. "We'll see about that," she smirked. "I mean, I fell in love with one of the most feared men in the 'Verse. If your reputation didn't scare me off, what makes you think a story would make me hate you?"  
In spite of himself, Southunder laughed, and promptly grimaced at the pain from his wounds. Sol winced in sympathy. "Do you want me to stay with you?"  
Southunder nodded, and Sol turned the med-bay lights off.

The next day cycle, Bex's voice came on over the ship's intercom. " _Attention everyone, we're comin' up to Greenleaf. Get presentable._ "  
Robert was the first to emerge from his bunk, wiping the sleep out of his eyes. "How long till we land?" he called down the corridor to Bex, stifling a yawn.  
"Bout ten minutes," Bex shouted back. Robert began walking to the stairs leading down to the med-bay. "Better check on my patient."  
Suddenly, the galley door slid open to reveal Raziel. "I wouldn't, Doc," he smirked. "Southunder and Sol are just fine."  
Robert nodded knowingly. "I'll just check on them later."

 _Author's Notes:  
Phew, that was fun. In the next few chapters, we'll see more of Southunder and Sol's relationship.  
I put the T-Pain song in there because it's got a very fast pace, and the lyrics are very chaotic; perfect for a fight scene.  
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review.  
Next chapter should be ready soon.  
-the Seacopath_


	13. Chapter 12: Let There Be Cowgirls

**Chapter 12: Let There Be Cowgirls**

The _Darkstar_ approached Greenleaf, three days after the encounter with the _Stingray_. Seen from space, Greenleaf was beautiful. Even after the Core Worlds took their taxes, the lush emerald world supplied most of Red Sun with food and medicinal plants. The massive farms, plantations and orchards on the planet were home to millions of workers. To keep up with growing demands, the world was also a prime source of technological development. Mechanical engineers lived in the planet's main industrial complex, designing new machinery and technology to aid the farming and production of crops.

The _Darkstar_ entered Greenleaf's atmo, her armored underside glowing red with re-entry friction. The crew began to prepare for landing, as the rumble of engines and the howling of wind grew louder.  
Eve stood in the cargo bay, examining the huge cargo from Beaumonde. Sol jumped down the stairs, shouldering her huge pipe wrench. "What do you think is in there?" she asked curiously.  
Eve turned her head. "I'm not sure," she mused. "Whatever it is, it smells like engine grease and metal."  
"You'll most likely find out when we land," Southunder called over from behind the enormous pallet, where he was in the process of strapping an assortment of guns to his body.

"Southunder!" Alex shouted down. "We're droppin' off a cargo, not occupying the planet! You do _not_ need that many guns!"  
The big cyborg shrugged. "Pays to be prepared," he rumbled.  
As Southunder finished speaking, the ship landed with a gentle bump. Up above, Raziel and Bex descended the stairs from the bridge. Robert emerged from the door leading to the med-bay, carrying his medical bag. "We ready to go?" Robert called up.  
"Everything's shiny," Raziel nodded, hopping down to the cargo bay deck. "Southunder, take your hover-truck and pull the pallet out of here."  
The merc nodded and jumped up the stairs to where his truck hung from the ceiling, next to Raziel's aircar and the _Darkstar_ 's Mule. Meanwhile, Robert, Alex and Eve began pushing the smaller cargo crates out of the huge plastic-covered pallet's way.

 _Song: Chris Cagle – "Let There be Cowgirls"  
_ The orange VelociRaptor hover truck descended from the cargo bay ceiling, Southunder at the wheel. The truck squeezed through the gap between the cargo pallet and the bay door with inches to spare, and once outside, Southunder released the truck's rear winch. Sol hooked the towing cable to the pallet's bottom edge, and Southunder hit the gas. With an alarming creaking of metal, the pallet began to move forward, until the rear edge had cleared the cargo ramp. Just then, another hover-truck emerged from the trees on the edge of the landing pad, loaded down with people.

Raziel hopped down the cargo ramp and stood next to the cargo pallet as the hover-truck approached and pulled to a stop. A second later, the doors opened and everyone jumped off the back. Out of the driver's seat stepped a striking woman. Under a cowboy hat, the lady's black hair hung to her shoulders, a plaid shirt lay open over a white tank top, and tight blue jeans disappeared into black leather cowboy boots. Piercing green eyes looked the crew up and down, and red lips parted in a confident smirk, making the dusting of freckles on her tanned cheeks dance.  
"Looks like you fellas are right on time," the woman grinned. "Who's the Captain here?"

Raziel stepped up and shook the woman's hand. "Raziel Tyler."  
"Pleasure," the woman replied, shaking Raziel's hand firmly. "I'm Juliette Mustang. I own this here plantation, and about ten others like it."  
Juliette turned to the eight plastic-wrapped shapes on the cargo pallet and whistled to the men who'd ridden in on the hover-truck. "That first one's mine, boys!"  
With that, the men set to work, slashing at the plastic with knives. The crew's jaws collectively dropped as the packages were revealed. Underneath the plastic tarps were eight gleaming humanoid exo-suits. Juliette ran forward and clambered up one suit's leg with the grace of a spider monkey, vaulting into the cockpit and strapping herself in. A second later, a rumble started up, and the suit began to move.

Juliette's suit stood up to its full height with her inside it. Juliette punched the air in front of her, and the powered suit mimicked her motions with a hiss of hydraulics and a hum of servomotors.  
"Gorram," Robert whistled, looking up at the exo-suit and its operator. "I know I'm gay, but that's a hell of a lady."  
"Well said, doc," Southunder grinned. "The lord _did_ say ' _let there be cowgirls'_ after all."  
Sol lightly punched Southunder's flesh arm. "Eyes down here, Tank," she pouted.

After the exo-suits had been stored, Juliette invited the crew to her farmhouse for drinks. As Juliette rummaged around in a low cabinet, Southunder nudged Raziel. Peeking over the top of the waistband of Juliette's jeans was an ornate tattoo that read " _William Forever._ "  
"Who's William?" Southunder cleared his throat. Juliette smirked at the merc as she stood up straight. "Well, it wasn't forever, that's for sure."  
"His loss," Raziel shook his head. Juliette sidled past, wearing a smirk not unlike Raziel's own. "Might be your gain." As Juliette walked past, Bex, Sol and Southunder's collective jaws dropped.

Juliette popped the top off a bottle of New Canaan whisky and poured it into tumblers around the table. As the cowgirl leaned forward over the table, showng an impressive line of cleavage, Raziel nudged Southunder. "Gorram, I'm so into it."  
Southunder snorted. "Yeah right Cap'n, she'll eat you alive."  
"Hey, we just got paid a fortune for those suits, and I'm in the mood to celebrate," Raziel grinned. "Bring it."  
Juliette slipped between Raziel and Southunder on the way to put the whisky on a sideboard. "You're invited too, Tank," she winked.  
Sol and Raziel indignantly stuck their fingers in Southunder's face at the same time. "You are _not_ invited!"

The afternoon slowly turned to evening, and the occupants of Juliette's farmhouse chatted, laughed, and drank amongst themselves. Juliette put her tumbler down on the table, wiping her eyes with her other hand. "I wish I'd been there to see that hairdryer work its magic!" she laughed. "You got yourself a genius mechanist, Captain."  
Raziel waved the compliment off. "Sol did that long before she met me. Her genius speaks for itself."  
At the other end of the table, Sol blushed as red as her hair.

"So," Bex cleared her throat, "It's been nice, but we gotta head out soon."  
Juliette shook her head. "I wouldn't do that. There's a massive Alliance patrol passin' overhead. Everyone sane knows to stay outta the way. Y'all are welcome to spend the night."  
Raziel nodded. "Might just have to take you up on that." He tossed the _Darkstar_ 's starter chip to Southunder and took Juliette's hand as she led him upstairs. As Raziel's blue braid disappeared up the stairs, Southunder turned to Sol. "Bunk?"

Sol stood up, grabbed Southunder's shirt and dragged him out of the kitchen. A few minutes later, Robert followed them, yawning loudly. Alex and Eve sat at the table with Bex, the silence deafening.  
"So, now what?" Alex asked. Bex shoved her chair backwards and stomped out. Alex watched the angry spacer slam the kitchen door, and turned to Eve. "So I guess it's just you and me?"  
"Nope; just you." Eve neatly replaced her chair and followed Bex out of the room.  
Sitting alone at the table, Alex poured himself another shot.

 _Warning: Here comes a sex scene. You know the drill._

 _Song: IceKream – "Sin City"  
_ Upstairs, Juliette slammed Raziel back against the wall as she ground her mouth against his. Raziel pushed back and spun around, trapping Juliette against the wall. Juliette moaned as Raziel's lips made their way up and down her neck. Raziel grinned and nibbled on Juliette's earlobe, sliding his hand up her plaid shirt.  
Juliette pushed Raziel away and ripped her shirt off. Her smooth skin was covered with freckles from years spent in the sun. Raziel kissed his way down past Juliette's collarbone, between her soft breasts. Juliette sighed happily as Raziel stood up to his full height and undid her bra with one hand.

Juliette's dark bra fell to the floor, followed by Raziel's black leather jacket and white t-shirt. A second later, Raziel's belt and Hellhound shotguns fell to the floor with a loud _clunk_. Juliette pushed Raziel towards her king-size bed, fiddling with the zipper on his jeans. Raziel sat heavily on the bed and grabbed Juliette's waist, pulling her in close. Juliette gasped as Raziel cupped her breasts and teased her pink nipples with his rough tongue. Juliette purred appreciatively, pressing Raziel's head into her chest and playing with his blue hair.

Raziel reached up and peeled Juliette's tight jeans down, revealing her ass and toned legs. Everywhere Raziel looked he saw more freckles. Juliette pulled Raziel's jeans and boxers off in one smooth move before she knelt down and wrapped her lips around Raziel's hardening member. Raziel closed his eyes and tilted his head back. "Gorram," he whispered. Juliette pulled away, her lips leaving Raziel's member with a _pop_. "You think that was good, you're in for some fun," she hummed seductively.

Juliette pushed Raziel backwards on the bed, crawling up towards him like a cat with a hungry look in her brilliant green eyes. Raziel grinned as Juliette pressed her lips against his. Juliette broke the kiss and guided Raziel's cock inside her, sinking down with a long sigh. Raziel grabbed Juliette's ass and started thrusting upwards. The spacer and the cowgirl began moving in time to the rhythm of the music on the stereo.  
Juliette gasped as she rode Raziel. The brunette cowgirl tilted her head back and pawed at her breasts. Raziel increased his speed, drawing more moans from Juliette. He gripped her ass, kneading the warm flesh. Juliette practically fell forward, shoving her tongue into Raziel's mouth.

Raziel pulled out and flipped Juliette over onto her back, spreading her legs wide. Juliette gasped as Raziel entered her with a groan. Juliette reached between her legs and rubbed her clit as Raziel sped up, thrusting hard into her. Raziel caught his breath as he felt Juliette's warm, wet pussy tighten around his cock like a vice. With his mouth clamped around Juliette's, Raziel pounded her into the mattress. Juliette's moans became screams, and she thrashed around, before grabbing Raziel's back and digging her nails in hard as she came.

Raziel grunted with pain and pleasure, tensing up hard. He closed his silver eyes as he felt himself come inside Juliette, warmth flooding around his cock. Juliette's pussy squeezed Raziel's member as she rode the end of her orgasm, lying flat against the tall spacer's chest. After a few minutes, Juliette struggled to her hands and knees and planted a deep kiss on Raziel's lips. " _Gorram_ ," she whispered in his ear. " _That was fun._ "  
Raziel opened his brilliant silver eyes and gave Juliette a devilish smirk. "You ready for more?"

 _Song: SoLonely – "Confused"  
_ Back at the _Darkstar_ , Sol screamed as she came, burying her face in the side of Southunder's neck. The petite mechanist shuddered as her orgasm rampaged through her. Southunder grunted, holding Sol close to him with his flesh arm. Southunder's huge mechanical hand rested against Sol's warm pussy, his fingers vibrating furiously. Sol eventually shoved Southunder's hand away, breathing hard. "Let's take a break," she gasped. Southunder grinned and undid the button on his armored jeans. "You sure about that?" he asked. Sol's eyes followed Southunder's flesh arm down to where his hand held his massive member. Southunder started stroking himself, and his cock began growing, almost a foot long and two inches thick. Sol gaped, hefting the weight in utter astonishment. "I was saying," she breathed excitedly, "You, me, bed, now."  
Southunder grinned and picked Sol up, gently laying her on her back.

In the next bunk over, Bex listened to the sound of gasps and moans coming through the wall. One of the brunette spacer's hands was on one of her breasts, while her other hand rested between her legs. Bex held a humming vibrator against her pussy, her legs shuddering. The toy's vibrating head sent shocks of pleasure through Bex's body. Bex threw her head back, breathing hard, a feeling of tension rising between her toned legs. Suddenly, the vibrations of the toy became too much, and Bex grabbed the vibrator hard with both hands, forcing it against her clit as she came, hard.

Bex sighed and threw the vibrator off to the side as her orgasm faded. She turned over and rested her head against her pillow. Bex yawned as her eyes began to slide closed, but she jerked awake at the mental image of Raziel's smirk and gleaming silver eyes.  
" _Where the hell did that come from_?" Bex thought to herself. She sighed, rolled over again, and tried to ignore the sounds coming from Southunder's bunk as she willed herself to sleep.

 _Author's Notes:  
Sorry that was a long time coming. If you want to know the reasons why it took so long for me to put this out, check out the author's notes on the latest chapter of my other story, "The Infamous Prom Catastrophe."  
Also, I hope everyone liked the sex scene. Since re-starting this story, I'm trying to write from more perspectives than just Raziel's.  
If you like where this is going so far, please review it.  
-the Seacopath_


	14. Chapter 13: Family Reunion

**Chapter 13: Family Reunion**

 _Song: Corb Lund – "Family Reunion_

After two weeks of travel since leaving Greenleaf, The _Darkstar_ touched down gently on the Southunder homestead. The black Firefly's engine wash sent the rows of corn in the field swaying in the evening sun. In the cargo bay, Southunder stood in front of the doors, waiting for the rest of the crew. Robert, Alex and Sol emerged from the lower door that led to the passenger bunks and the med-bay, while Eve jumped down the stairs from the galley. Raziel and Bex descended the other set of stairs leading to the bridge. When all the crew was assembled, Southunder took a breath.

"Listen up y'all," he began. "I just realized we're landing on Hera in the middle of the Southunder Family Reunion. Fair warning, it's pretty intense."  
"It's your extended family," Alex smirked. "How bad could they be?"  
Robert nudged Alex. "Have you not seen Southunder? He's massive. Now, imagine the rest of his family."  
"Doc's got a point," Southunder rumbled. "Most of my family is like me."  
Alex blinked twice, and closed his mouth.

Southunder hit the button to open the _Darkstar_ 's cargo door, and the twin slabs of metal slid apart, letting in a blast of fresh warm air. Faint voices could be heard from outside. Southunder emerged from the black Firefly, and was promptly tackled by a swarm of children. Raziel and the others followed the big merc outside, and were immediately confronted by a field of people. An enormous marquee had been set up next to the Southunders' farmhouse, and a crowd of incredibly tall people milled around it. Southunder managed to extricate himself from the pile of his cousins and led the crew into the tent.

As soon as the crew entered the massive tent, a wall of sound greeted them. Southunder's entire family was crammed into the marquee, drinking, laughing, eating and dancing up a storm. At one end of the tent, Ma and Pa sat in the middle of a high table, accompanied by other older family members. Seeing the crew, Pa lifted a tankard the size of a railgun shell and took a long swig before standing up, shaking the table.  
" _Shut up and listen up!_ " Pa roared, firing a pistol in the air. " _My oldest son is home!_ "  
Every head turned to Southunder, before the tent filled with cheers.

Southunder waded through the crowd of family members, followed by the crew. Raziel nudged Bex. "I feel so puny right now."  
"How do you think I feel?" Sol interrupted. Bex looked around. Aside from the crew and several children, barely anyone in the marquee stood under six feet tall.  
"I thought I was tall," Robert whistled, craning his head upwards. "Gorram."  
Southunder reached the high table at the end of the marquee, where Pa embraced him in a bone-crunching hug. "Been too long, boy," he grunted. "Why didn't you tell me you were dropping by?"  
"Last-minute change of plans," Southunder replied. "I'm sailin' with more crew now, too." The big merc pointed at Alex, Robert, Sol and Eve.

Pa faced down the _Darkstar_ 's crewmembers and held out his enormous hand. "Nice to meet y'all." Alex, Eve and Robert shook Pa's hand, but Pa stopped when he reached Sol. The huge man cocked his head, and broke into a grin. "You must be Sol."  
Sol nodded quickly. "Yes sir," she stammered.  
Pa winked and held out his hand. "Jonny called me after he got shot. Wouldn't stop goin' on about the gorgeous redhead he took a bullet for."  
Sol blushed as red as her hair. Beside her, Southunder blushed just as thoroughly.

Meanwhile, Ma made her way around the table to Raziel and Bex. "It's nice to see y'all again," she smiled warmly. "Sorry I was a mite quick in sayin' hello the last time I saw y'all; I had a casserole in the oven."  
"Ain't nothin," Raziel smiled. "Quite a party y'all got goin' over here."  
Ma grinned. "The party's just gettin' started."  
Just then, a wave of cheers turned the crew's heads to a stage set up outside the marquee. Several family members stepped up on stage carrying instruments. A second later, they began to play.

 _Song: Florida Georgia Line – "Round Here"_

After the song was over, Pa Southunder stepped up on stage to a fresh round of applause. Pa grabbed a microphone and motioned to the band to start playing. The two guitarists began strumming out a riff, and a cousin playing the fiddle kept time with a simple melody. Behind them, the drummer tapped her sticks on the lip of the snare drum for the beat.  
Pa cleared his throat and put the microphone to his mouth. "Y'all know what song this is!" he rumbled. "This song is dedicated to my wife Jean. Love ya, darlin'."  
With that, the band exploded into motion, and Pa began to sing.

 _Song: Ed Sheeran – "Nancy Mulligan" (modified by the Seacopath)_

 _I was just eighteen years old when I met the woman I would call my own,  
Got too many damn kids all growin' old in the house on the land I bought ya.  
On the autumn day when I proposed I made that ring in river-panned gold,  
And she told her parents so they couldn't say no, I was gonna marry their daughter._

 _She and I went on the run, from the priests and the lawmen's guns,  
I'm gonna marry the woman I love, on Hera's golden shores.  
I was William Southunder, she was Jean Clearwater,  
She took my name and then we were one, on Hera's golden shores._

As Pa sang, Ma and the crew clapped along. Most of the family members had made it onto the dance floor, and were spinning around to the beat of the song, clapping along with the drums.

 _Well I met her in the Hera Civil War and she was working in a soldiers' ward,  
Never had I seen such an angel before, the moment that I saw her.  
Jean, you were my autumn flower and we got married by old Father Brown,  
We got six children now growing old, two sons and four daughters._

 _She and I went on the run, from the priests and the lawmen's guns  
I'm gonna marry the woman I love, on Hera's golden shores.  
I was William Southunder, she was Jean Clearwater,  
She took my name and then we were one, on Hera's golden shores._

By this time, every last family member was either on the floor dancing, singing, or clapping along to the song at the tables where they sat. Raziel sat on a barrel of wine next to Bex, clapping as they watched Southunder dancing with Sol in front of the stage. Eve was sitting at a table next to Ma, nodding her head along to the beat, while Robert and Alex whirled across the floor.  
Up on stage, Pa got ready for another verse.

 _From the golden streaks in her long brown hair, for forty-two years I've been loving her  
So many good memories of the times we've shared, Jean you know that I adore ya.  
I was a workin' farm boy from Alice-Town, I never gave a worry bout royals or crowns,  
Cause I found my heart in Hera's rich brown ground, there's no difference I assure ya._

 _She and I went on the run, from the priests and the lawmen's guns  
I'm gonna marry the woman I love, on Hera's golden shores.  
I was William Southunder, she was Jean Clearwater,  
She took my name and then we were one, on Hera's golden shores._

The song finished and Pa bowed to thunderous applause. The big man jumped off stage, and walked straight over to his wife. Pa put his arms around Ma and pulled her into a warm embrace.  
Raziel slid down off the enormous wine barrel and shook Pa's hand. "That was ruttin' incredible," he grinned.  
"I perform that song at almost every family reunion," Pa replied. "I figured it was about time I played it again."  
Ma nodded. "It's a true story, too."  
Bex hopped down and dusted herself off. "That sounds real romantic," she smiled.

Raziel cleared his throat to get Pa's attention. "We better find Jonny. We're actually here for business too."  
Pa straightened up and squeezed Ma's hand. "You think you can handle this bunch while I discuss business with the Captain?"  
Ma nodded and gave Pa a kiss on the jaw. "Sure thing."  
Pa put two fingers in his mouth and gave a piercing whistle. A second later, Southunder emerged from the crowd with Sol riding on his shoulders.  
"Let's talk business," Raziel nodded.

Pa led the four spacers up to his study and locked the door. "Now," he rumbled, "What's this business?"  
Southunder cleared his throat. "Pa, you remember when I went missin' durin' the War?"  
"Course I do," Pa replied. "Me and Ma never got a condolence letter, so we didn't even know if you was alive or dead. Then you showed up with that fancy arm, but we looked past it cause we had our son back."  
Southunder looked down. "Voltram Sykes kidnapped me," he said bluntly. Pa swore. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he growled.

"Exactly what I said," Southunder replied, not meeting his father's gaze. "I was kidnapped by Sykes, and he turned me into one of his freaky, fucked-up experiments."  
Pa rested his hands on his desk and leaned forward. "What did he do to you, son?" he asked intensely.  
Southunder looked away before he spoke again. "I don't remember half of it. All I remember is killin' folks. I wasn't doin' it though; Sykes had control over me. I was watchin' myself killin' browncoats and civilians, and I couldn't do nothin' to stop it!"

"Wait a minute," Bex butted in. "How do you know about Voltram Sykes?"  
"We had our suspicions," Pa replied. "Word among the troops was, the Alliance had someone on their side that was turnin' the tide of the whole War. You heard stories of folks gone missin'; entire platoons cut up like autopsy patients without so much as a struggle." Pa sighed. "Soon, the Browncoat brass found out it was all Voltram Sykes' work."  
Raziel cleared his throat. "A former egghead on Beaumonde told us he used to be an Alliance scientist, before Sykes went crazy and killed all his colleagues."

Southunder spoke up again. "We found out he's still alive and still workin' on his experiments."  
"So what do y'all need from me?" Pa asked.  
Raziel spoke up. "We need supplies now, and we need somewhere to lie low after we blast Sykes to the hot place. Might not be for a while, cause we're still tryin' to find where the _hun dan_ lives, but we'll need the option when it's time."  
Pa stood behind his desk. "I can give y'all safe harbor. On Hera, any private property can't be touched by lawmen, so you can hide your ship here. Can't do much about the supplies though. We ain't got much use for big guns out here, and we need all the food we can get to feed our towns."  
"That's fine," Southunder nodded. "I know where we can go for supplies anyhow."

Pa reached into a drawer and drew out an old-looking pistol. Sol spoke up for the first time. "Is that a Moses Frontier B pistol?" she asked in wonderment.  
"Sure is, little bird," Pa nodded, passing it to Southunder. "Son, if you can, put a couple shells through that _hun dan_ 's skull for me. Sykes murdered far too many good men in the War."  
" _Shi a_ , pop," Southunder said seriously, strapping the pistol to his hip.  
Raziel shook Pa's hand. "We'll stay in our ship tonight, and we'll be gone by morning. Thanks for agreeing to shelter us."  
"Ain't nothin," Pa rumbled with a smirk. "Just get back here in one piece, you hear? Ma's gonna be annoyed if y'all come back full of holes; you'll stain her good carpets."

Raziel led the others back to the _Darkstar_. In the galley, everyone sat down at the dining table. Raziel cleared his throat. "We've got a place to start. Tomorrow morning, we're headed to Ariel. I've made contact with an old war buddy, and he's agreed to tag along with us to help find Sykes and take him out. Allan is the best tracker I've ever met. If anyone can sniff out Sykes, he can."  
"Would this be Allan Jackson?" Eve asked. Every head turned to her.  
Raziel nodded. "You know him?"  
"He was one of my teachers on Haven," Eve replied. "You're not wrong about him."  
"Good enough for me," Southunder shrugged. Raziel stood up and put his chair back. "Y'all get some rest," he instructed the crew. "We leave at six o-clock tomorrow mornin'."

 _The next morning_

 _Song: Jacob Banks – "Monster"  
_ The morning sun rose over the Southunder Homestead. A lone rooster fluttered to the top of the barn roof, and took a deep breath. Barely a second later, the cock's crow was cut off by the loud roar of starship engines. The rooster looked around indignantly for the source of the noise that interrupted his daily duty. a moment later, the _Darkstar_ soared over the barn, her jet wash blasting the poor cockerel off the roof in a furious flurry of feathers. Dazed, confused, and half-plucked, the rooster watched the massive black metal bird disappear into space from his new perch on the farmhouse's front porch. Some time later, the rooster's crow woke up the farm's residents, but from that day forward, he always stuck to the safety of the ground, in case the terrifying black metal bird ever decided to return.

 _Author's Notes:  
That was a pretty fun chapter to write. I particularly enjoyed modifying the song to tell the story of how Southunder's parents got together. If you liked it, leave a review. I've already got a lot done on the next chapter, so that should be out in a few days. Fair warning; it's going to be quite dark and gritty, and it's going to touch on some real-world issues.  
Anyway, leave reviews, and check out my other story, The Infamous Prom Catastrophe.  
Till next chapter,  
-the Seacopath_


	15. Chapter 14: Trouble with the Law

**Chapter 14: Trouble with the Law**

The _Darkstar_ entered Ariel's atmo and pointed her nose down, falling toward the planet's surface. At the controls, Raziel and Bex shared a grim smile as they watched the shimmering silver skyline approach. This was the heart of Alliance territory, and everyone on board the ship knew it. However, the approach to Ariel City went smoothly, and Raziel prepared to take the _Darkstar_ in for a landing.  
"Ariel Port Control," Bex began, picking up the radio, "This is Firefly transport _Wild Wind_ requesting permission to land."  
"Let's hope our fake ID holds up," Raziel muttered.  
A second later, Port Control came back online. " _Roger that, Wild Wind, descend to landing bay 327._ "

The _Darkstar_ 's landing legs hit the concrete pad with a dull boom. The noise of turbojets faded, and the Firefly's crew assembled in the cargo bay.  
"Listen up, y'all," Raziel began. "We're here to pick up Allan, and then we're on our way again. Allan says he's about a day away from Ariel, so we have some time to kill. Southunder and Bex; you're to stay on the ship, and away from the windows."  
"What?" Southunder groaned. "That's dumb!"  
Raziel stared the merc down. "You do remember you're the third most wanted man in the 'Verse, even though half of said 'Verse thinks you're dead and gone, right?" That shut Southunder up. The big cyborg sat heavily on a crate, muttering about unfair captains.

"The rest of y'all," Raziel continued. "Consider this your day off. Go shopping, drinking, whatever; just be back in 24 hours or less. And try not to get arrested or corpsified. That would ruin my whole day."  
Southunder stood up and dug around in one of his many pockets. After a second, the big merc extracted a set of keys and tossed them to Sol. "May as well take my truck, as I can't step off the boat," he grumbled. Sol hopped up on a crate and kissed Southunder on the cheek. "I'll take good care of her," she smiled.  
With that, Sol, Alex, Robert and Eve all piled into Southunder's orange hover truck and roared out of the cargo bay.  
"Well that's shiny," Southunder rolled his eyes. "What are we s'posed to do now?"  
Raziel dug around in a crate and emerged after a minute clutching a coil of cables and black plastic. "Game session?" he grinned.

 _Song: "Mos Eisley Cantina Theme" (From Star Wars)  
_ In the city, Southunder's VelociRaptor cruised the air traffic lanes; a huge orange monstrosity compared to the sleek silver teardrops that were the aircars of the Core. Robert sat up front, giving Sol directions. Both he and Alex were native to Core worlds, so they knew how to navigate through a city with ease. A few minutes later, Sol stopped the hover truck in a fenced parking lot. Beside the massive concrete structure was a bright patch of color; a marketplace.  
The four spacers wandered around the market, drinking in the sights. Everywhere, brightly colored stalls sold everything from fresh fruit and vegetables, to exotic jewelry. Traders' shouts filled the air as they hawked their wares. Of course, since Ariel was a Core world, between every few stalls stood pairs of Federal Marshals.

Sol skipped up to a stall selling tools and gizmos. When Alex, Robert and Eve had caught up, Sol was practically drooling over a set of laser tools for engine work. "How much?" she asked the trader. The man gave a simpering grin. "For the lady, three hundred credits."  
Sol's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "That's robbery!" she snapped, throwing down the tools. "I could make these myself for half that cost!"  
"Well then," the trader scowled, snatching the tools back, "Make them yourself, if you're so good."  
Sol shook her head disdainfully. "Swindler," she shot back over her shoulder.  
"I forgot to tell y'all," Alex cleared his throat. "Everything's more expensive in the Core except for food, really."

 _"_ _On the ground, niang! (Motherfucker)_ "  
A shout drew everyone's attention. Two stalls down, a pair of Federal Marshals had wrestled a kid to the ground and were laying into him with their shock batons. A lone red apple lay nearby. "This'll teach you to steal, you little piece of _gou se_!" one Fed shouted, jabbing his baton into the kid's stomach. The child thrashed on the ground as the electricity crackled through his body, unable to even scream as his lungs spasmed.  
Eve and Alex charged forward. Eve hauled one Fed off the child, while Alex slammed the other against a market stall's wall. "What the _qin xiao da_ do you think you're doing?" Alex shouted. "That's a kid, you _si piyans_!"  
Suddenly, a pair of shots rang out. Alex fell to the ground, followed by Eve. A third Fed had run up, gun outstretched.

Robert shoved Sol away. "Get back to the ship! Get the Captain!"  
Sol took off for the VelociRaptor, while Robert ran forward. "What the hell?" he cried, grabbing Alex. "That's my-"  
A shock baton to the head cut off whatever Robert would have said. The doctor fell to the ground, swimming in and out of consciousness. Dimly, he registered his arms being wrenched behind him, followed by the sound of plasti-cuffs.  
"Let's go, scum," the third Fed spat, as the other two hauled Eve, Alex and the child to their feet, unmindful of their wounds. "You got an appointment at the Hall of Justice."

Sol sped through Ariel's heavy air traffic, the VelociRaptor's engines howling. Behind her, a Traffic Patrol unit followed closely, lights flashing, siren screaming. Sol swung the Raptor's wheel to the left. The big truck entered the opposite air lanes and stayed there for all of two seconds before Sol hauled up on the Raptor's thrust lever. The hover truck catapulted into the sky, barely clearing the top of a freight hauler. The patrol unit wasn't so lucky. The automated freight carrier smashed into it, flattening the patrol unit like a soda can.

 _Song: Fall Out Boy – "Death Valley"  
_ A few tense minutes later, the VelociRaptor slid to a stop outside the _Darkstar_ 's cargo door. Sol bolted up the open ramp, through the cavernous cargo bay to the rear door, where sounds of yelling and computerized explosions could be heard.  
Sol crashed through the door and skidded to a stop in front of Raziel, Bex and Southunder, who were in the middle of a game of _Righteous Slaughter 8_.  
" _Cap…tain_ …" Sol gasped. "they took…they…they took…"  
Raziel put down his controller. "What's wrong?" he asked seriously.  
Sol motioned frantically. "They took…COME ON!"  
Raziel shared a look with Bex and Southunder, before all three of them jumped up and followed their manic mechanist to the cargo bay.

Meanwhile, Robert, Alex, Eve and the child from the market lay crammed in the back of a Federal cruiser. Alex and Eve's wounds leaked, while Robert did his best to help with both hands cuffed. Up front, two Federal Marshals stared straight ahead out the windshield, unmindful of their prisoners. After a few minutes, the cruiser jolted to a stop and the back doors were thrown open.  
"We need help." Robert turned, just in time to receive a gun butt to the forehead. The doctor collapsed, and Alex weakly grabbed at his coat as the Feds dragged Robert and the child out of the cruiser. Robert raised his head to watch the cruiser take off, Alex's frightened face in the back window.

Alex and Eve were thrown around as the cruiser jolted to a rough stop. By now, the floor of the cruiser's holding area was covered in a thin sticky layer of blood from the pair's bullet wounds. Alex's leg oozed red, while Eve's sleeve was steadily darkening. A second later, the cruiser's doors were thrown open. Four Federals manhandled the cook and the preacher from the cruiser onto a pair of hospital gurneys. Alex looked down as he felt a pair of plasti-cuffs snap into place on his wrist. Eve was similarly restrained, and the gurneys were passed to a pair of serious-faced orderlies. Alex felt cold fear twisting in his guts as the gurneys were rolled closer to the hospital.

Back at the _Darkstar_ , Sol had calmed down enough to speak. "The Feds took Alex, Robert and Eve," she sobbed. "They shot Eve and Alex, and when Robert tried to stop them, they arrested him."  
Raziel swore explosively. "This is why I hate the gorram Core!"  
Bex cleared her throat. "You're going after them." It wasn't a question.  
"You don't have to come," Raziel shook his head. "You're in more danger in the Core than me or Jonny."  
Bex nodded. "I know. When do we start?"  
Raziel squared his shoulders. "Right ruttin' now."

 _Song: Aperture Science Psychoacoustics Laboratory – "15 Acres of Broken Glass"  
_ Robert coughed in pain as a knee slammed into his gut. Two Feds grabbed him under the arms and frog-marched him from his holding cell to a tiny room with two metal chairs, one metal table, and a wide mirrored window. A man in a smart suit sat in one chair, tapping a pen on the table. The two Feds dumped Robert in the chair opposite the suit and stood guard at the door, hands on their guns.  
The suit across the table cleared his throat, opened a folder and began to speak.

"Robert Gregory Cassan," he began, "you're in quite a lot of trouble."  
Robert scowled. "Doctor Cassan," he growled. "I didn't spend ten years at MedAcad for nothing."  
"Fine. _Doctor_ Cassan," the suit drawled, "Would you care to explain why you assaulted three Federal Marshals in the pursuit of their duties?"  
"Fine," Robert shot back. "And you can explain why those Federals were busy assaulting a ten-year-old boy for stealing a single apple!"  
"Because the child was a lowlife thief, like yourself," the man replied calmly.

"I'm not a thief," Robert snapped. "I'm a ship's doctor."  
The suit nodded. "Fine. Let's say for argument's sake that you're not a thief. However, you _are_ a doctor on a stolen ship captained by a former Independent pilot and crewed by criminals, including a murderess, a war criminal, a terrorist, and the third most wanted man in the galaxy. Am I getting warm?"  
"I don't care what the crew's done," Robert shook his head. "I'm just their medic. It's my duty as a doctor to heal the sick and the wounded, and my duty made me save that child at the market from getting his brains bashed out by those thugs you call Federal Marshals!"

"Well," the suit replied, "Just sign this document explaining what happened, and we can make this all go away. Surely a doctor from the Core such as yourself would prefer to be reinstated at the hospital of their choice, rather than being lumped in with all the criminal trash clogging this system?"  
The man pushed a piece of paper forward, and passed Robert his pen. Robert looked down at the document and shook his head. "This is all in Chinese. I want a document in English. I'm not signing anything unless I know what it says."  
The suit scowled menacingly for a split second, before the same bland look returned to his face. "Fine," he nodded. "While we print out a document in English, you will be returned to your cell. Gentlemen, take the good doctor away, please."  
The two Marshals standing guard yanked Robert from his seat and dragged him out the door. Just before it shut, Robert felt ice cascade down his spine when he saw the suit's face break into a sadistic smile.

Across town, Alex and Eve were being wheeled through the hospital's corridors. After a few minutes moving farther into the maze, the two gurneys stopped in a round white room. Alex and Eve watched as a man dressed in white scrubs moved into their field of view.  
"Welcome to Ariel City Hospital," the doctor smiled. "Those wounds look serious."  
"Gorram right they're serious!" Alex managed to shout. "We've been ruttin' shot!"  
The man nodded. "Oh, I know," he said in a sympathetic tone of voice, as though talking to a pair of toddlers. "And provided you can afford Alliance health coverage, we can make those nasty holes go away, lickety-split!"  
Alex shared a look with Eve.

The Shepherdess turned to the doctor. "What happens if we don't have coverage?"  
The doctor smiled even more broadly. "Then you'll be transferred to a waiting room while we sort out how you'll pay for your treatment."  
"We need to call the Captain," Alex coughed. "He'll know what to do."  
The doctor shook his head, his smile still fixed in place. "I'm afraid that's not possible. You see, our policy doesn't allow outgoing calls for patients who have been brought in by the police."  
Alex shared a worried look with Eve while the doctor stared at them with that too-wide grin.  
"Oh well," the doctor shrugged. "I guess you're going to the waiting room." Alex and Eve's gurneys jolted into motion as a pair of orderlies started pushing them towards a pair of silver doors.

In the Hall of Justice holding cell, Robert slumped down the wall, coughing and holding his ribs. When he finished coughing, Robert weakly lifted his hand from his mouth to see it speckled with blood. Across the cell, the two Federals cracked their knuckles and shifted their feet. "You think he's ready to sign yet?" asked the taller one.  
"Nah," the shorter Fed replied. "I think he's still in need of some encouragement." With that, the short fed stepped forward and booted Robert in the stomach. Robert bent over, wheezing as he tried to get his breath back. The tall fed stepped up, raising his shock baton. Robert weakly raised his hands in front of his face and received a brutal blow from the shock baton that sent him into spasms.

The short fed drew his baton and jabbed it into Robert's ribs, sending thousands of volts through his body. Robert arched his back and screamed in agony, before a brutal punch to the face knocked him senseless. The two Feds looked down at the helpless doctor, wrinkling their noses at the smell of scorched flesh and burning hair. Before Robert completely passed out, he dimly heard the short Fed saying, _"Let's go pay that thieving brat a visit. We'll teach him a lesson about stealing he'll never forget till the day he croaks."_

The two gurneys wheeled through the double doors, and Alex and Eve gasped in horror. Spread out before them was a cavernous space, filled with rows upon rows of hospital beds and gurneys, all with patients on them. The space was almost completely dark, filled with the sounds of coughing, moaning, and wails of agony and despair. The silent orderlies wheeled Alex and Eve's gurneys into place and left without a word. Alex looked at Eve, fear in his eyes. " _What the qin xiao da is this ruttin' place_?" he whispered.  
Eve refused to meet Alex's gaze as she tried to steel herself. " _They've left us here to die_ ," she replied in a small voice, praying for some kind of miracle.

 _Song: Doctor Who – "Bad Wolf" (Extended Version)  
_ After a few minutes, the two spacers noticed the noise changing. People were whispering to each other across the rows of beds and gurneys. " _Get Adam_ ," the voices kept repeating. " _Get Adam_."  
Eve turned her head and looked at her crewmate. " _Alex_ ," she whispered. " _Someone's coming_."  
A second later, a light grew closer through the gloom. Alex squinted, trying to make out the source, until a man emerged from the darkness. The stranger's eyes and hands were wrapped in bandages, but he navigated between the rows of patients without so much as a missed step. The man stopped in front of Alex and Eve and bowed his head. "Welcome, friends," he said in a voice that was little more than a dry rasp. "I am Adam. What ails you?"

"We were shot," Eve replied. "Can you help us?"  
"No," the man replied, "But I can free you from your bonds." The man raised one hand, and a strange hum filled the air. A second later, the cuffs holding Eve and Alex down clicked open.  
"Who are you?" Eve whispered in awe.  
The man smiled faintly. "I am a simple traveler. Tend to yourselves before worrying about me."  
Eve sat up in bed and pulled her shirt and jacket off. She tore two strips of cloth from her shirt and wrapped one around her arm, and motioned to Alex. The chef slightly lifted his leg, and Eve bound it with the other crude bandage.

Meanwhile, the bandaged stranger had disappeared, but the light he carried remained, filling the whole space with a soft white glow. Eve left Alex in bed and began to walk down the rows of hospital beds. A few spaces down the line, Eve stopped at a bed containing an old man clutching a photograph.  
" _Preacher_ ," the old man rasped, seeing the crosses on Eve's outfit. " _Can you pray with me_?"  
Eve walked up beside the old man and knelt at the edge of his bed. "Would you like to hear the Lord's Prayer?" she asked softly. The man nodded weakly. Eve placed her bible on the bed next to the old man and rested his hand on top of it.

" _Our father, who art in Heaven_ ," Eve began, " _Hallowed be thy name. thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in the 'Verse and in Heaven._ "  
The old man's eyes closed as Eve spoke. " _Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."  
_ The old man sighed deeply as he died, and Eve fought to keep her composure as she finished the prayer. " _For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever, dear God…Amen."  
_ Eve stood up from the old man's bedside and carefully lifted the man's hand off her bible. Biting back a sob, the Shepherdess carried on to the next member of the dying flock.

Alex watched Eve walking down the row, before turning his head to the ceiling. Tears streamed down his own face as he heard Eve's soft voice through the sound of sickness once more.  
" _Our father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name…_ "  
Alex closed his eyes and listened to the holy words, trying to drown out the pain of his wound.  
" _Forever and ever, dear God Amen…_ "  
Eve's voice grew fainter as she moved down the line. Alex began to speak his own prayer. " _Please dear Buddha, let Raziel and the others find us before it's too late…_ "

 _Song: James Paget – "The Hero Within"  
_ The _Darkstar_ 's two aircars soared through the city. Raziel and Bex raced ahead in the VelociRaptor, while Sol and Southunder followed in the GTR-71, pulling a crude trailer. Southunder hailed Raziel over the radio. " _Cap'n! The Hall of Justice is comin' up on the left! We'll see you back at the ship when we've got the Doc!_ "  
Raziel hit the Raptor's radio. "Roger that, Jonny! We'll have our preacher and our cook back safe and sound before the day's over!"

In the GTR-71, Sol twisted the steering controls hard to the left. The sleek aircar darted into the turn, pressing Southunder hard against the door. Sol straightened out as Southunder consulted the scans of the Hall of Justice building. The big merc tapped his wrist-mounted screen. "The prisoner cells are on level 49," he instructed Sol. "You gotta get me onto level 50, otherwise I'm hittin' concrete!"  
"Can do," Sol replied. "I'll be waitin' in the sky for you. Gimme a shout when you're leavin', and I'll catch you."  
Southunder planted a kiss on the redheaded mechanist's cheek, and opened the aircar's door. Immediately the wind began howling in the pair's ears. Southunder took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and jumped.

Meanwhile, Raziel and Bex spotted the hospital in the distance. A gleaming spire of silver and glass, it towered impressively over the other buildings in the area. Ambulances swarmed around the tower like white metal doves. Bex swerved to avoid an outgoing ambulance, while Raziel checked his wing suit rig.  
"I've got a reading on Eve's location!" Bex pointed to the Raptor's screen. "It says she's on level 60!"  
" _Diyu_ , this is gonna be close," Raziel swore. "If you ain't there to catch us, we're gonna be red paste."  
"I know, Cap'n," Bex nodded. "Y'all just make sure you're ready for me too."

Southunder crashed onto the hover trailer behind the GTR-71 and grasped onto a handhold just as his feet cleared the rear edge. The big merc raised a thumbs-up to Sol, and she hit the gas. The Hall of Justice grew larger as the aircar sped towards it. Southunder zoomed in with his mechanical eye and scanned the building. Level 50 blinked into focus, highlighted in green.  
In the GTR-71's cockpit, Sol gripped the steering controls anxiously as she waited for Southunder's signal. Just then, the merc's voice exploded through the radio. " _Go now! Go, go, go!_ "  
Sol took a deep breath and wrenched the steering controls hard to the left.  
The GTR-71 banked hard, and the centrifugal force threw Southunder from the trailer like a horse flicking a fly with its tail. The big cyborg rocketed through the air towards the Hall of Justice building, bracing himself for impact.

The VelociRaptor slowed to a hover over the roof of a skyscraper adjacent to Ariel Hospital, and Raziel jumped out. Freefalling through the air, Raziel flipped forwards, and spread his arms wide. A split second later, his wing suit activated, and Raziel's fall became a blisteringly fast dive. High above, Bex waited and kept watch with the Raptor's scanners.  
Raziel's vision blurred as the hospital building loomed closer. In his left hand, he tightly gripped a remote connected to his twin Hellhounds, currently strapped to his back, pointing forward.

Southunder flew through the air, his Kraken grenade machine gun strapped to his back, and a fifty-caliber hand cannon clutched in his flesh arm. A glass window showed up on his eye's HUD, glowing green against an expanse of red.  
" _This is gonna hurt,_ " Southunder thought to himself.

Raziel slammed his thumb down on the remote's button, and his twin Hellhounds roared, turning the hospital's plate-glass window into a spider web of cracks. A split second later, Raziel crashed through the window and deployed his combat parachute. Scattering hospital staff and patients out of his way, Raziel skidded to a stop just shy of a wall.

Southunder fired his hand cannon, and the Hall of Justice's window disintegrated. Southunder himself shot through the window and grabbed the edge with his mechanical arm. The big merc flipped around and was practically yanked to a stop as his metal fingers dug four long furrows into the concrete floor. By the time he had stopped moving, Southunder became aware of the dozen guns pointed at him. He also became aware of the fearful whispers surrounding him. The big merc raised his head and stared down the group of terrified Federal Marshals.  
"Who's first?" he leered.

Raziel drew his Hellhounds and began to run down the hospital halls, following the path marked on his flight helmet's HUD. As he ran, an alarm began to sound. A Federal Marshal burst through a door to Raziel's right, yelling a war cry, before he found his chest full of buckshot. Two more Marshals carrying riot gear attempted to block the hallway. Raziel spun to the side as two Taser barbs whistled past and fired his shotguns. The Feds' riot shields disintegrated, and Raziel barged past them, putting a shell in both Feds' feet for good measure.

In the Hall of Justice, Southunder charged down the hall, firing the Kraken at everyone that got in his way. Bullets pinged off his armor as he advanced down the corridor. A security camera mounted on a wall managed to capture a frame of Southunder's face, before the shockwave from a grenade turned it into scrap.  
In the Hall of Justice's security office, the staff was in bedlam.  
The security chief snatched up a red priority phone as he stared in terror at the screen showing footage of the monster rampaging through the facility.  
"What the hell do you mean, Ariel Hospital is under attack?" he roared at the voice on the other end of the phone. " _We're under attack!_ "

 _Song: James Paget – "Rubicon"  
_ Raziel burst through a pair of double doors, and stopped in horror at the sight before him. Hundreds of patients were crammed into a warehouse-sized space, all of them suffering from some affliction, from broken bones, to full-blown cancer. Raziel aimed a Hellhound behind him and fired without even looking. A Fed fell to the floor clutching his leg. Just then, a shout caught his attention. Alex lay on a hospital gurney, a crude bandage around his leg. Raziel ran to Alex's bed and helped him to his feet. "Can you walk?"  
"I'm good, Captain," Alex replied bravely, gritting his teeth through the pain.

Southunder burst through a door into a stairwell and promptly shot out the security camera, before jumping down a flight of stairs from level 50 to 49. The giant cyborg smashed down the door to level 49 and charged forward, the Kraken held out in front of him.  
In his holding cell, Robert raised his head off the floor at the sound of explosions and screaming. The doctor allowed himself a small smile, as the noise grew closer, and he realized what was coming.  
Southunder blasted through a security door and charged down a row of holding cells, putting several bullets into the unfortunate Feds standing guard. The prisoners began to cheer Southunder on, sensing him as one of their own.

Eve took off running, supporting Alex on her shoulders, screaming blue murder about the terrorist in the halls. Raziel stayed behind, waiting for his turn to run, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Raziel stared into a heavily bandaged face. Adam smiled broadly. " _You care so much for them_ ," he rasped. " _It's good to know there are still people like you in this 'Verse._ "  
"I'll be back for all of you some day," Raziel promised. "No one deserves to die like this."  
" _You are a good man_ ," Adam smiled. " _I will not be alive to see this escape, but take everyone you can."  
_ Raziel nodded, before charging out after Alex and Eve. "Bex," he called over the radio, "You better be ready!"

Southunder charged down the hall like a runaway freight train, carrying Robert over his left shoulder. Southunder fired the Kraken in a continuous burst, the high-explosive grenades blasting chunks out of the prison level's thick concrete wall.  
Outside, Sol sent the GTR-71 into a steep dive towards the Hall of Justice, aiming for the red bloom of explosions on the car's infrared scanner.  
Southunder's grenade volley finally succeeded in blowing a hole in the wall of the prison. The giant merc shouldered the Kraken and ran full tilt at the hole in the wall.  
Looking straight down, Sol saw the building's wall explode outwards. Southunder emerged from the dust cloud, carrying Robert. The two men promptly fell like stones, ahead of the GTR-71. Sol hit the gas and willed the aircar to catch up in time.

Raziel caught up to Alex and Eve after fighting his way through a veritable horde of Federals. The blonde lady screaming _terrorist_ had drawn all the feds into a bottleneck, which Raziel had promptly waded through in a storm of buckshot and noise. Raziel gritted his teeth against the pain of several grazes over his body and one serious shot in his arm as he carried on running. Eve stood by the destroyed window, Alex staggering with the pain of his wounded leg. Raziel holstered his shotguns and grabbed Alex's other arm, running for the window. The three spacers charged through the hole in the glass and started to fall. Eve screamed for real, while Raziel kept count in his head.

Southunder grabbed for a handhold on the GTR-71's hover trailer, and just managed to grasp a loop of metal. The big merc locked his metal fingers and tightly clutched Robert to his chest as Sol pulled out of the dive. Southunder roared as he struggled to maintain a grip on the trailer and the unconscious doctor, while the g-force struggled to pull the pair off into the sky.

Raziel whooped as he saw Bex catching up to the three falling spacers in the VelociRaptor. Eve clutched Alex to her chest, and Raziel wrapped one arm around the preacher, his other hand reaching for the edge of the Raptor's cargo bed. Raziel roared as he hauled himself into the truck bed, dragging Eve and Alex with him. Bex began to pull out of the steep dive, and gravity made itself known again. Raziel and the others were pressed into the truck bed by the force of the Raptor pulling up from the descent.

Southunder clung on grimly as Sol flew towards the spaceport, pushing the GTR-71 past its safety limits. In his grasp, Robert stirred once, and fell back into unconsciousness. " _Come on,_ " Southunder thought anxiously.  
In the VelociRaptor, Bex pumped her fist in the air as the GTR-71 appeared in front of the hover truck. "We're almost there, Captain!" she called. "We're on the home stretch now!"  
In the truck bed, Raziel looked over the edge to see the _Darkstar_ fast approaching. Bex hit the button on the Raptor's dashboard to open the Firefly's cargo door. A second later, the VelociRaptor skidded to a stop inside the bay. Raziel jumped down from the truck and bolted up the steps to the bridge.

Sol slowed the GTR-71 down as she approached the landing pad. Southunder jumped off the hover trailer and ran inside the ship, carrying Robert to the med-bay. Sol parked the GTR-71 in the bay, squeezing next to the Raptor. As soon as Bex slammed the button to close the cargo door, the _Darkstar_ 's engines roared, and the black Firefly practically catapulted into the air. Raziel slammed the throttle forward, and the _Darkstar_ rocketed into the sky at a speed that could have stripped off the paint. Twelve nerve-racking seconds later, the ship had cleared Ariel's atmo, and was streaking off into space.

 _Author's Notes:  
Holy hell; two chapters in one day! I'm on a gorram roll here! And what a wild ride. That was one of the most intense chapters I've done so far. If you liked it, please review it!_

 _Onto a more serious note, that chapter touched on some very real issues.  
The first issue I mentioned was the rampancy and severity of police brutality. All over the world, trigger-happy cops assault and kill the people they have sworn to protect. This is also an issue of race.  
Black people are __**three times more likely**_ _to be assaulted or killed by police officers than white people. In addition to this, thirty percent of black victims were unarmed in 2015, compared to twenty-one percent of white victims.  
Fewer than 1 in 3 black people killed by cops in America were suspected of a violent crime and allegedly armed.  
_ _ **THIS NEEDS TO STOP.  
**_ _Police need to be held accountable for their actions._

 _Secondly, I highlighted the problem people around the world face regarding healthcare. In most cases, people who don't have health coverage have to pay for medical treatment out of pocket, or they have to get loans in order to pay for treatment. Otherwise, if people cannot pay, they get denied treatment. I realize the situation in Ariel hospital wasn't all that realistic, but I took it to a literal level, where the people that could not pay for treatment were literally left to die.  
 **This needs to be addressed.**_

 _I know I'm just a fan fiction writer, but you, the people of the Internet, see the stories I write. If everyone shared this message to ten friends, and those ten friends shared it to ten more friends, hundreds of thousands of people could see it. And if enough people get inspired to make a change, that change will happen.  
Think about it._

 _Next chapter is coming out soon. Till then,  
-the Seacopath_


	16. Chapter 15: Licking Wounds

**Chapter 15: Licking Wounds**

The _Darkstar_ soared through space, heading for Persephone. On the bridge, Raziel typed in a number on the Cortex screen. After a few rings, Allan Jackson picked up the call.  
" _Raziel Tyler, what did you do?_ " Allan chided, the Cortex distorting his voice slightly. " _I couldn't even land on Ariel for two days after y'all left!_ "  
"I ain't done nothin' I can't tell you about over a beer when I see you," Raziel replied. "We're headed to Persephone for now, and we should arrive in a week. Can you meet us there?"  
" _You're lucky I got business there,_ " Allan replied. " _I'll be leavin' Ariel in three days, and I'll meet y'all at Eavesdown. Meantime, try not to invade any more planets, you hear?_ "  
"Loud and clear, Allan," Raziel replied, ending the call.

Bex stepped onto the bridge behind Raziel and cleared her throat.  
"What's goin' on, Bex?" Raziel asked. "Somethin' blow up?"  
Bex shook her head. "The crew wants to see you in the med-bay."  
A minute later, Raziel hopped down the aft stairs and entered the _Darkstar_ 's medical bay. Inside, Eve and Alex lay on the examination table and the side counter. Robert had expertly bandaged both the cook and the preacher's bullet wounds, though Eve's was far less serious than Alex's. The doctor was currently squinting through one slightly swollen eye, reading a label on a bottle of medicine.

"Somethin' the problem?" Raziel asked, standing in the doorway.  
Robert turned to face his captain. "No," he replied. "The others and I have been talking, and we wanted to thank you, Captain."  
Raziel shook his head. "Don't thank just me," he said quickly. "It was a joint effort to rescue y'all."  
"Why did you do it?" Eve asked from the exam table. "Why bother rescuing us? The four of you mounted a full-frontal assault on two secure Alliance facilities. You got shot, Captain! Any of you could have died! Why did you come back for us?"  
"You're on my crew," Raziel replied.  
"But you don't even really like me," Eve persisted. "You hate religion, so why rescue a preacher?"  
Raziel gave Eve a confused look. "You're on my crew," he repeated. "Why're we still talkin' about this?"  
Raziel turned on his heel and walked toward the med-bay door, before turning his head to face Robert. "Get some sleep, doctor. Let yourself heal up too."

After Raziel had left the med-bay, Alex turned to Robert. "What were you about to call me?" he asked.  
Robert fumbled with a syringe as he tried to remain calm. "What do you mean?"  
"I mean," Alex pressed, "When we were on Ariel and that Fed shot me, you were about to call me something. What was it?"  
Robert stuttered, and began determinedly sorting the nearest medicine cabinet.  
"Well?" Alex prompted after a minute.  
Robert covered his swollen, bruised face with both hands and muttered something unintelligible.  
Alex sat up straight. "I didn't catch that," he pressed.  
"Boyfriend!" Robert snapped. "I was gonna call you my boyfriend! You happy now?"

The med-bay was so quiet, a dropping pin may as well have been an air horn.  
Alex blinked for a minute and took a deep breath, trying to form words. "What do you mean boyfriend?" he eventually asked.  
"Um, do I need to go so you two can work this out?" Eve spoke up.  
" _No_!" the two men said at the same time.  
Robert took a deep breath and began to speak. "I like you, okay Alex? You're so confident and talented and-"  
"Stop!" Alex held up his hand. "What the hell are you talking about? I thought I was the only sly one on this ship!"  
"Obviously you were wrong," Eve piped up.  
" _Not helping!_ " Alex and Robert snapped in unison.

 _Song: Smashproof – "Brother" (ft. Gin Wigmore)  
_ Outside the med-bay, Raziel and Southunder listened to the conversation, holding their hands over their mouths to keep from laughing every time Robert and Alex spoke with one voice. After a minute, the conversation began getting louder. Southunder nudged Raziel. "Is it me, or are those three hollering now?"  
Raziel stood up and walked over to the med-bay window.  
Inside, Robert and Alex were shouting at each other, and Eve was yelling at both of them.  
"- _Sat on this for six gorram months-_ "  
"- _Never thought I could like-_ "  
"- _YOU never said a thing about-_ "  
" _Will both of you just-_ "  
"- _Not like I wanted to fall-_ "  
" _Oh, so now it's his-_ "  
" _-mouth, Preacher, this don't concern-_ "

" _HEY!_ " Raziel bellowed, stomping into the med-bay.  
" _What_?" the others chorused, turning to face him at the exact same time.  
Raziel crossed his arms. "The rest of us have headaches from you three. Y'all wanna argue, do it outside!"  
"We're in space," Eve piped up. "It's a vacuum outside!"  
"Exactly, so shut the hell up." Raziel snapped, grabbing a chair and sitting on it. "Now, do y'all want my advice?"  
Robert shrugged. "Couldn't hurt."  
Alex rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever."  
Raziel reached behind him and slid the med-bay door shut.

 _One hour later…_

They're still in there," Southunder sighed into the walkie-talkie. The big merc lay sprawled over a beanbag chair, commentating while Bex kept watch on the bridge and Sol worked in the engine room. Just then, Southunder rolled upright as he saw Alex and Robert pull each other into an embrace. While Southunder watched through the window, Alex and Robert shared a deep kiss. Suddenly, the med-bay door slid open to reveal Raziel. "Enjoying the show?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Southunder beat a hasty and noisy retreat as Raziel's stern gaze followed him up the stairs.

 _Four days later…_

The crew gathered around the dinner table, enjoying Alex's cooking. That evening, the chef had made stir-fried noodles with bokchoy, broccoli and sim-beef slices. Robert sat shoulder-to-shoulder with Alex, the two men reading bulletins on a single Cortex unit. Sol nudged Southunder as they ate. " _Is it wrong that I think those two are adorable?_ " she whispered.  
Southunder shrugged. " _I just hope they don't break up_ ," he muttered. " _It'd be a damn shame if either one of 'em left the ship._ "  
Across the table, Raziel turned to Eve. "How come you're okay with this, preacher?" he asked. "Ain't bein' gay a sin in the Lord's eyes or some such?"  
"The Lord says judge not," Eve replied casually, scooping a portion of stir-fry onto her plate. "It doesn't affect me either way, so I'll just let those two be themselves."  
"Very progressive of you, preacher," Bex said through a mouthful of sim-beef.

Just then, a proximity alert started blaring. Raziel and the others ran to the bridge, where the screens showed a bright red, flashing distress beacon signal.  
"Oh yeah!" Southunder exclaimed. "Distress beacon, baby!"  
At the rest of the crew's confused looks, Southunder seemed to deflate a little. "What? Ain't y'all ever heard the first rule of space travel?"  
"The prettier it looks; the more likely it is to kill you?" Eve raised her hand.  
Southunder shook his head. "Nah, not that one, the other one! Nine out of ten times, a distress beacon means a ship full of dead motherfuckers and a bunch of free _gou se_!"  
"And the one other time?" Bex prompted.  
Southunder shrugged. "The one other time, it's a deadly trap, but I'm willin' to roll the dice on those odds."  
"Let's roll then," Raziel smirked, adjusting the ship's trajectory.

A few hours later, the _Darkstar_ approached a ship in the distance. Raziel activated the ship's scanner and grabbed the radio.  
"Unidentified vessel, this is Firefly transport _ISV Darkstar_. We received your distress signal and we were wondering if you needed assistance, over."  
Down in the cargo bay, Sol paused her workout routine as she and Eve listened to Raziel's voice over the intercom. Sol tilted her head and nudged the Shepherdess. "You ever noticed when the Cap'n gets on the radio, he puts on a weird Core accent?"  
"Nope," Eve shook her head, carrying on lifting a heavy kettle-bell.  
Back on the bridge, Bex read the data from the _Darkstar_ 's scanner. "The scanner ain't showin' any life signs on board. All the escape pods are gone, and the reactor's been dead for a while. The ship's running on solar energy at emergency power levels."  
"Well then," Southunder grinned. "I'm sure they won't mind us knocking."

The _Darkstar_ floated motionlessly, upside-down in relation to the wrecked ship, the two vessels' airlocks facing each other. Raziel pressed a button on the pilot's console. A joystick folded out from the right armrest, and a thrust lever rose up from the left. Raziel wrapped his hands around the controls and prepared to make his approach. On the targeting display, the wrecked ship's airlock glowed red, along with a large warning reading, " _Caution: Airlock Not Aligned._ "  
Raziel pushed the left lever ahead a centimeter, and the _Darkstar_ 's main thrusters slowly came to life, inching the black ship forward. Raziel nudged the joystick on the right armrest in multiple minute corrections, keeping the airlock on the screen directly in the Firefly's path. On the targeting display, the diagram flashed green and displayed the message, " _Airlock Aligned._ "

A second later, the two ships' airlocks connected with a _thud_ and a dull _clunk_.  
Raziel released the docking controls and powered down the _Darkstar_ , pocketing the starter chip. At Bex's curious look, Raziel shrugged. "Better to have the ship cold in case the Alliance come snooping." With that, Raziel reached up and pressed the intercom. "Sol," he called, "Douse the reactor. We're goin' to cold stealth."  
A second later, Sol's reply came through the speaker. " _Shi a, Cap'n. She's cooling down good and proper. We should be invisible in a minute or two._ "  
Raziel activated the ship's emergency lights, and the bridge was filled with a soft red glow. He turned to Bex. 'Stay here and keep an eye on the scanners. Don't use active settings, or else everyone can see us."

A few minutes later, Sol, Eve, Southunder and Robert met Raziel in the cargo bay, next to the ammunition locker.  
"What are we doing, Captain?" Eve asked, as she slid a pair of axes into the holders strapped to her back.  
Raziel holstered his Hellhounds and grabbed two boxes of electric shells. "We're takin' a look at this wrecked ship, and checkin' on any loot the last crew left behind."  
"Let's hope it's gold," Southunder grinned. The _Darkstar_ 's security specialist primed the very large machine gun he held, which warmed up with a low hum.  
Raziel shrugged on his armored jacket. "Won't be nothin' that valuable, Jonny. Alliance would've come runnin' to save these taxpayers, were that the case."  
"Gorram it," the big cyborg grumbled. In his hands, the gun's noise died down.

 _Song: Aperture Science Psychoacoustics Laboratory – "Ghost of Rattmann"  
_ Once everyone had loaded up and put on spacesuits, Sol unlocked the Firefly's airlock, and the five spacers stepped inside. The airlock pressurized with a _whoosh_ of rushing air, and the outer door lowered, clearing the way into the wrecked ship.  
The _Darkstar_ 's airlock lights barely penetrated the gloom. The corridor ahead disappeared into inky blackness. Raziel flicked on his spacesuit's headlamp and drew one of his Hellhounds. Behind him, Eve, Sol, Robert and Southunder activated their lights and drew their own weapons.  
Raziel led the way, and the five spacers advanced into the other ship, disappearing into the shadows.

On the _Darkstar_ 's bridge, Bex kept watch on the monitors. On the screen, Raziel and the others were shown as five glowing green dots, moving through the wrecked ship's halls. Bex picked up the radio and called the crew. "Comm check, over."  
A second later, the radio crackled. " _This is the Captain. You're comin' in loud and clear, Bex. Over. Find a way to disable that distress beacon if you can; we don't want anyone else comin' to call._ "  
"I can see y'all on the screen, and I'll work on that beacon," Bex replied. "There should be a cargo hall up ahead. From the looks of it, y'all won't have no company to worry about."

Raziel listened to Bex's voice over the comms while he scanned the hallway. Even with the spacesuits' headlamps on, the way forward was only illuminated a few feet ahead. Pipes on the ceiling leaked strange grey gas, and every so often, the floor would rumble with the sound of some mechanical process. The thermometer on Raziel's spacesuit HUD displayed a reading of 45 degrees (Celsius).  
Just then, Southunder radioed the others. " _Y'all see that_?"  
Raziel aimed his light in the direction Southunder's finger was pointing, and blinked a few times. A red light began to grow clearer as the four spacers approached. Suddenly, a heavy-looking door materialized from the gloom. The red light emanated from a keypad next to the door. Sol knelt in front of the keypad and jabbed a small probe into the casing. A few seconds later, the keypad's light turned green and the door jolted as many heavy bolts disengaged.

Eve was about to grab the door's handle when Southunder stopped her. " _I don't know about y'all_ ," the big cyborg rumbled, " _But don't this seem like too much security for a cargo hauler?_ "  
" _It is odd,_ " Sol agreed, " _But that could mean whatever's on this ship is very valuable_."  
" _Or very dangerous_ ," Southunder shot back. " _Your call, Captain._ "  
Raziel thought for a moment. " _We're brave as hell, we're tough as nails, and we're armed to the teeth. It's worth a shot_."  
Southunder nodded and hauled the heavy door open.

On the _Darkstar_ , a screen showing the scanner's readings on the wrecked ship began flashing. On the screen was a warning message reading, " _Foreign Contaminant Detected in Airlock: Quarantine Procedures on Standby._ "  
Bex began furiously typing on the console keyboard, and pressed the radio call button. "Captain," she began, "We got a problem."  
Raziel's reply froze Bex in her seat. " _Problem is an understatement._ "

On board the wrecked ship, the five spacers looked around in horror at the sight before them. The cargo hall was full of putrefying bodies, slumped over crates or sprawled on the floor. A black haze hung in the air, and the spacesuits' scanners were flashing dozens of warning symbols.  
The corpses were all connected by what looked like black veins burrowing under their flesh, widening out into tendrils roughly the thickness of a man's arm. The growth spread across the floor in a tangled web extending from a door at the far end of the cargo space. The strange tendrils were covered in bulbous pods, pulsing with a cold blue light.

" _What in the hell happened here_?" Sol gasped. Robert knelt down and peered into a corpse's face, but recoiled in horror. The dead woman's eye swiveled in its socket, and a rattling breath whispered past her lipless mouth. " _Kill…me…_ " the woman gurgled. " _Kill…me…_ "  
Robert took a combat knife from Southunder and raised it above the woman's head. "I'm sorry," the doctor said sadly, plunging the blade between the woman's eyes.

 _Song: Skrillex – "Syndicate"  
_ Just then, a bloodcurdling screech ripped through the room. Everyone whirled around, weapons up. Robert dropped the knife and shot to his feet. " _Sorry_!" he shouted. As one, the corpses began twitching, until they surged upright. The black tendrils held the bodies off the ground like grotesque puppets.  
" _Well gorram_!" Southunder exclaimed, drawing every eye in the room, living and dead. " _It's a ship full of dead motherfuckers, a bunch of free gou se, AND a deadly trap! I'm impressed; I honestly didn't see that comin'_!"  
Raziel raised both Hellhounds and aimed. " _Ready_?" he asked. The others nodded.  
With that, the corpses and the spacers charged.

Raziel blasted his Hellhounds, turning dead bodies into mince and turning tendrils into splatters of black ooze. Beside him, Southunder let rip with his submachine gun. Sol and Robert were sandwiched between the two mercs, firing their own weapons into the charging horde. Eve charged around the room in a storm of flying blades, leaving a trail of black fluid, severed limbs and screeches in her wake. In between his bursts of fire, Southunder shouted to Raziel. " _That's one huaidan preacher, right Cap'n_?"  
Raziel nodded grimly and swung his left Hellhound. The shotgun's barrel met the open mouth of a charging corpse and turned its head into red mist. Even as the gun blasted, Raziel whirled and put a shell into the chest of another cadaver with the Hellhound in his right hand.

Just then, Southunder cried out. A cluster of tendrils had latched onto his exposed metal arm. Eve ran towards the big merc and swung her axe. The veins split in two, emitting a terrible screech. Southunder shook his arm but a piece of the black slime remained stuck. Gritting his teeth, Southunder grabbed the trailing tendril with his gloved flesh arm and yanked it off his mechanical arm's armor plate.  
Meanwhile, Robert was firing his own weapon, an automatic crossbow. Silver bolts whistled through the air, burying their way into rotting flesh. Robert switched his aim and sent a bolt between the eyes of a cadaver that was lunging for Raziel.

Sol swung back and forth with her giant spiked red wrench, taking corpses' heads off and smashing tendrils into black pulp. A particularly wild swing unbalanced the redheaded mechanist. Sol stumbled and fell on her hands and knees, landing in the path of a lashing tendril. Without missing a beat, Southunder reached down and yanked Sol into the air by a loop on the back of her spacesuit. Sol landed on her feet and swung her wrench straight up.  
The spiked head of Sol's wrench hit a corpse under its jaw, and tore its head clean off, sending it flying away like a gruesome golf ball. The final carcass fell to the floor, and the tendrils retreated into the darkness. Silence fell.

" _Well, that was exciting_ ," Eve remarked, flicking blood off her axes' blades and wiping a spatter off her spacesuit's visor. " _We should find out what's in these crates_."  
" _Good plan, preacher_ ," Sol grinned, lifting her wrench and striding over to a pile of crates at the far wall. Sol raised her wrench and swung hard. The lid of the first crate in the pile smashed into pieces, and a few small bottles flew out, rolling across the floor.  
" _Gorram_ ," Robert gasped. " _Those are Med-X bottles. They're worth fifty credits apiece_."  
Just then, the lights flickered and a shudder passed through the ship.  
Everyone's weapons went up.

Suddenly, the door at the far end of the cargo bay was ripped off its hinges. A torrent of black tendrils exploded through the opening, thrashing around as they reached blindly for prey.  
" _Hold your fire!_ " Southunder shouted, just before the crew prepared to fill the space with hot lead. " _They can't see us! Everyone grab a crate and fall back to the_ _Darkstar_!"  
" _Listen to Southunder_ ," Raziel confirmed, holstering a Hellhound. " _This is a tidy profit sittin' right here. No sense gettin' into it again with whatever that stuff was_."

Bex's voice came through the suits' speakers. " _The Captain's right. I'm seein' lots of the same growths through that door in front of y'all. Grab the Med-X and get outta there._ "  
" _Don't need to tell us twice, Bex_ ," Robert nodded, lifting a crate. The five spacers began to retreat from the cargo area, carrying a crate of Med-X each. Behind them, the black growths continued searching aimlessly for their missing prey.

Once the inner doors had shut, Bex locked the _Darkstar_ 's cargo door, activated the disinfectant protocol, and disengaged the airlock clamps. The black Firefly floated away from the infested derelict, her RCS thrusters pushing her back. In the cargo bay, the airlock's computer _dinged,_ signaling the completion of the decontamination sequence. Raziel shed the top section of his spacesuit and ran up to the bridge, boots clanking on the stairs' metal grating.  
"Is everyone okay?" Bex asked, standing up from the pilot's chair.  
Raziel slid into the chair. "Everyone's shiny." He inserted the _Darkstar_ 's starter chip into the ignition slot. With a rumble, the ship powered up and Raziel took hold of the controls. "Let's go meet Allan and see if we can't find a buyer for that Med-X in the hold."

Down in the medical bay, Robert placed a bottle of Med-X into a centrifuge, and another bottle in a spectroanalyzer. After a minute, both machines _beeped_ positively, their indicator lights flashing green. Robert plucked both Med-X bottles from the medical equipment and placed one back inside the cold storage cabinet. As Robert tied back his dreadlocks, he heard a cough from behind him. Alex was staggering into the med-bay, sitting heavily on the medical table. Robert turned and began examining Alex. "What did you do to yourself?" the doctor shook his head.

Alex grumbled and allowed Robert to help him fully onto the exam table. "I ain't done nothin. What happened? We get paid?"  
"We got paid," Robert replied, shining a light into Alex's eyes. "And it looks to me like you need an antibiotic regimen for that hole in your leg."  
"Good thing we got plenty of drugs on hand," Alex remarked. "Does this mean we'll have heat on us now?"  
"No," Robert replied. "As far as I could see, we weren't in range of anyone. We should be fine."

Outside, on the _Darkstar_ 's hull, a small beacon lit up. Within minutes, the blinking light resembled one of the infinite stars surrounding it.

 _Author's Notes:  
Sorry for the long wait for a new chapter. Life keeps getting in the way. At least I'm getting paid again. I'm not sure when I'll have a new chapter out, but we're about to dive headfirst into the Sykes arc. We also got to see a little bit more of the development of Robert and Alex's relationship. I'll also try and have a chapter out soon for the Infamous Prom Catastrophe.  
Till then,  
-the Seacopath_


	17. Chapter 16: Hunter-Tracker

**Chapter 16: Hunter, Tracker**

 _En route to Persephone_

 _Song: Chris Thomas King – "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues"  
_ The _Darkstar_ soared through space, burning hard towards Persephone. Raziel snoozed in his bunk while Bex kept watch on the bridge. Eve and Robert occupied the galley, playing cards. Down in the lower decks, Southunder relaxed on a beanbag chair, strumming a battered guitar. Sitting next to him, Sol hummed along to the slow melody as she fiddled with her spiked wrench. Alex thumbed through a cookbook as he reclined in an easy chair.  
When Southunder's song finished, Sol cuddled up to him and took the guitar into her arms, curiously plucking at the strings.

"Southunder, what happened with that freak we heard about?" Alex asked after a while. "The one who turned you into half a robot?"  
Sol stopped trying to play the guitar, and Southunder stared at Alex for a long moment. Alex backtracked. "I didn't mean no offense. I just thought it was a little weird. That factory boss on Beaumonde gave us that creepifyin' warning, and we ain't heard nothin' since."  
Sol perked up and craned her head up at the big cyborg. "Alex is right; we ain't heard a peep for a good while now."

Southunder scratched his chin, deep in thought. "I gotta admit myself, it's been strange. But if there's one thing I know about Voltram Sykes, it's that he strikes when y'all least expect it." Southunder got to his feet, carefully lifted his guitar from Sol's arms and hung it on the wall. "Let's not talk about this no more; Murphy's Law will kick in and he'll attack, sure as the turnin' of worlds." With that, Southunder stomped upstairs, presumably in search of whiskey.  
As Southunder left, Alex stared curiously up the stairs after him, and turned to Sol. "Who's Murphy?"

Meanwhile, Raziel dragged himself up his bunk's ladder, headed for the bridge. Blinking sleep out of his eyes, Raziel pulled a black shirt over his head. Just as his boots hit the stairs to the bridge, Raziel's head popped out from the shirt's collar, and he pulled his long blue braid out, letting the hair swing freely. From the bridge, faint beeping could be heard. Raziel hauled himself to the bridge door and leaned against the frame with a small smile.

 _Song: Marshmello – "Silence ft. Khalid" (Symphonic Remix by Nils Tuag)  
_ Sitting in the pilot's chair, Bex's head drooped as she stared at the instruments and dials spread out across the pilot's console. Raziel watched Bex's golden eyes begin to slide closed, the brunette spacer falling asleep in front of him. Raziel pushed himself off the bridge doorframe and carefully walked up to the pilot's chair. Bex looked up at the touch of Raziel's hand on her shoulder, her luminous eyes reflecting the light of Lux, Persephone's protostar.  
"Captain?" Bex yawned widely.  
Raziel smirked. "Have a nap, Bex. I told Alex to make some food in a few hours."

"Thanks Captain," Bex smiled sleepily, standing up. However, her sleepiness sent her stumbling into Raziel's chest. Raziel froze up as he felt Bex's head on his chest. For her part, Bex hummed happily and lazily lifted her arms, wrapping them around Raziel's torso. Bex looked up when Raziel cleared his throat.  
"You need some help gettin' to your bunk?" Raziel asked, arching an eyebrow with a grin.  
Bex nodded drowsily and allowed herself to be led from the bridge and down the stairs.

Raziel walked Bex to her bunk's ladder and pressed the button to open the door. The wall panel moved down, joining to the rest of the ladder. Just then, Bex slumped in Raziel's grip and began to softly snore.  
" _Wuh duh ma huh tah duh fong kwong duh wai shung,_ " (holy mother of god and all her wacky nephews), Raziel rolled his eyes. He gently laid Bex down on the deck grating, draping her legs down her bunk hatch. Raziel clambered halfway down Bex's bunk's ladder, and carefully lifted her down. Bex stirred awake as Raziel's boots hit the floor, and she staggered slightly before Raziel steadied her with his hands on her shoulders.

Bex looked up into Raziel's silver eyes and rested her hand on his cheek. "You shouldn't be scared of lettin' people in, Captain," she murmured.  
Raziel gently pushed her hand away, a sad look momentarily crossing his face. "Get some sleep, Bex."  
Bex obligingly land down in her bunk and pulled her blanket over herself. Raziel turned and took a look around Bex's quarters. A dresser sat at the edge of Bex's bed. On top of the dresser was a small pile of papers, and Bex's Independent-issued combat knife. Another wall held a rack of pistols and a shelf of knives.

Raziel crossed the room to Bex's desk and scanned the items laid out on the polished sim-wood surface; a small doll made of red yarn, several ancient-looking books, and a framed photograph of a younger Bex in between two people who could only be her parents.  
Just then, the _Darkstar_ 's engines changed pitch and the ship roughly slowed down, inertia struggling against the artificial gravity.  
Head full of unspoken questions, Raziel quietly climbed out of Bex's quarters, ready to demand an explanation for the ship's deceleration, only to be confronted by the heavy steel toes of Southunder's boots. Raziel craned his neck upwards to stare at the massive cyborg.  
"We got a situation," Southunder rumbled, looking very worried.

On the bridge, Raziel slid into the pilot's chair and brought up the ship's diagnostics. On the screen was a flashing red symbol.  
"External signal detected?" Raziel read, eyebrows raising in alarm. "What external signal?"  
"This one," Southunder rumbled, sitting in the gunner's chair and bringing up the targeting interface. Outside the _Darkstar,_ one of the ship's two defense drones unfolded its thrusters and detached from the black Firefly's hull. The holographic screen showed the view from the drone's camera as it followed the slow-moving starship. Raziel swore as he deciphered what the drone's camera saw. Fixed to the _Darkstar_ 's armored underside was a flashing beacon, the silver lump standing out brightly against the black metal.

Southunder echoed Raziel's sentiment. "That thing's broad-waving our location to whoever's listening. We probably picked it up off that last wreck we salvaged."  
"I want that piece of _gou se_ off my gorram ship right now!" Raziel hissed. "Blast it to scrap if you have to!"  
"That's the problem, Captain," Southunder shook his head. "The scan says that beacon is packed with enough explosives to put a hole in the hull. And that ain't the worst of it. The beacon is under one of the ship's main circuit breakers. We try to shoot it off, we'll blow ourselves up too."  
" _Gao yang jong duh goo yang_ (motherless goat of all motherless goats)," Raziel snapped. "I need options here."

"Options for what?" came a voice. Raziel and Southunder turned to see Sol leaning through the bridge door.  
Southunder sighed heavily. "Some sneaky bastard somehow fixed a beacon to the hull when we docked up to that last wrecked ship. We can't blow it off without exploding ourselves."  
Sol stepped into the bridge. "It's obvious, ain't it?" she shrugged. "Send me out in a spacesuit, and I'll pop it off by myself."  
"You tell me right now, you think you can do that?" Raziel asked intently.  
Sol shrugged again. "Pretty sure. 'Sides, if I mess up, it's not like y'all can yell at me."

Twenty minutes later, Sol and Southunder stood in the cargo bay. Eve, Robert, Alex and Raziel helped the two spacers into their suits. Sol had left her spiked wrench leaning against the cargo bay wall in favor of a belt adorned with screwdrivers, wrenches, and tools of all sizes and descriptions, up to and including a laser saw and a portable zero-oxygen welding torch. Southunder held a tool kit, and an enormous pair of hydraulic shears was strapped to his back. A pulse-rifle hung from the merc's hip too.  
"Let's get this done," the merc in question grunted.  
Raziel twisted Sol's helmet, activating the spacesuit's seal, while Alex opened the Firefly's inner airlock doors.

Sol and Southunder stepped into the _Darkstar_ 's airlock, and the chamber soon depressurized. As the room's oxygen content dwindled, the two spacesuits' rebreather units activated, sending fresh air to Sol and Southunder.  
" _Okay_ ," Raziel's voice crackled through the suits' radios, " _We're openin' the door now. Work your way along the hull, and get to work. We have to keep movin', in case the beacon is rigged to blow if we stop. So be careful._ "  
" _Shi a_ , Cap'n," Southunder nodded, adjusting his grip on his tool kit.  
With that, the outer airlock door began lowering, exposing the two spacers to the infinite expanse outside.

Sol shivered as the outer door finished opening. "I'll never get used to this."  
" _Come again_?" Southunder asked, the radio distorting his voice.  
"It's just the thought of a little Mylar and glass bein' the only thing 'tween me and all this…nothin'…" Sol shuddered. "Sobers a body is all."  
" _You'll be fine,_ " Southunder replied, gently patting Sol's shoulder through the spacesuits. " _That's why I'm out here with you. And besides, even if by some freak accident you fall off the ship, I'll come get you, even if'n I have to drag the_ Darkstar _behind me with my gorram teeth._ "  
Sol blushed at Southunder's blunt but kind words. "Thanks."  
" _Ain't nothin'_ ," the big merc replied. " _Now let's go fix our boat._ "

Meanwhile, Raziel jumped up the steps to the _Darkstar'_ s bridge. Bex turned in the pilot's chair to face Raziel. "How are they doin'?" she asked in concern.  
Raziel shrugged. "Southunder's still helpin' Sol work up the courage to walk out the door. We might be here a while."  
"I ain't surprised," Bex replied. "Ain't Sol ever told you what happened to her?"  
Raziel shook his head, and Bex leaned back in the chair.  
"Sol worked on a freighter a few years back," Bex began. "On one voyage, pirates shot at them. Blew a hole through the hull. Sol was nearly sucked out into the black without a suit on."  
Raziel whistled. "And she still signed on with us? If'n that happened to me, it'd be a good long while 'fore I'd even want to _look_ at the sky again, much less fly through it."

Bex shrugged. "Sol said she mostly got over it, but sometimes space gets to her a bit; makes her remember."  
"I'd be worried if'n it didn't," Raziel replied sagely. Just then, the sound of footsteps approached. Robert walked onto the bridge. "What's up, Doc?" Raziel cracked.

Robert shook his head, dreadlocks waving. "You're never going to get tired of that one, are you Captain?"  
"Probably not," Raziel shrugged with a smirk. "Now, what's on your mind?"  
Robert sat down in the gunner's station across from Raziel and leaned back. "This might not be the best time but Trisha, my sister, called me just now," he began. "Turns out my niece Peyton has been havin' some problems."  
"And this concerns me how?" Raziel arched an eyebrow.

Robert cleared his throat. "Peyton got kicked out of her school. So her mom wants to send her away for some of what she calls 'head-clearing-time'." Robert finished his sentence with air quotes.  
"And this concerns me how?" Raziel repeated, crossing his arms.  
"Trisha knows I've signed onto a cargo ship," Robert replied. "Well, I _called_ it a cargo ship for lack of a better term. Anyhow, Trisha wants to send Peyton out to take a tour with us. She's got the notion a few weeks hard slog in space will do Peyton some good."

Raziel shook his head. "Osiris is a hell of a long way out of _our_ way, and we ain't runnin' a reform school for problem children. Not to mention we're in the middle of tryin' to scrape an explosive tracking beacon off our hull. This niece of yours would have to bring somethin' pretty shiny to the table for me to consider this."  
"Peyton is a hacker," Robert replied. "That's why she got booted from her school. Considering what's happening right now, I think we'll need some serious technical help taking down Sykes."  
Raziel leaned forward. "I'm listening."

Meanwhile, on the hull, Southunder held Sol's arm tightly, as the pair made their way down the length of the _Darkstar_ 's underside. The spacesuits' magnetic boots clung to the black metal like limpets, keeping Sol and Southunder anchored tightly to the ship. Sol kept her gaze firmly fixed on the hull in front of her, refusing to look up at the expanse above her head. On the other hand, Southunder's head never stopped swiveling, scanning the area for threats. Ahead of the two spacers, the beacon could be seen, flashing brightly.

Southunder stopped in front of the beacon and clipped Sol's spacesuit to an anchor point on the hull. " _Ready when you are, little bird,_ " he nodded encouragingly. Sol tightened her straps and knelt down next to the flashing beacon, opening her toolkit. The redheaded mechanist popped open a panel on the beacon's housing and picked up a code-cracking device.  
Suddenly, Southunder went rigid, his mechanical eye glowing brightly, while his flesh eye rolled back in his head. The big merc reached his mechanical arm behind his back to grasp the handle of his hydraulic shears, and raised the powerful tool in front of him.

 _Song: Korn & Skrillex – "Get Up"  
_Sol turned her head to see Southunder cut through the straps holding her to the hull. She panicked, slamming her magnetic boots against the hull desperately. One boot's magnet stuck and held fast, but Southunder released his hold on the hydraulic shears and grabbed the front of Sol's spacesuit in his mechanical fist. Sol screamed as Southunder's strength overcame the magnetic boot, and Sol came free of the hull. Sol stopped struggling and froze in terror as Southunder brought her helmeted head up to his eye level. " _Please_ ," she whispered. " _Please don't do this._ "  
Without a word, Southunder drew his metal arm back and let fly, hurling Sol off into space.

The bridge was in chaos. Bex shouted through the radio, trying to raise Sol, while Raziel frantically tracked Sol's spacesuit's signal with the ship's targeting system. The other crewmembers ran to their action stations, grabbing weapons and tools. Eve and Alex jammed themselves into spacesuits while Robert ran to the Med-Bay.  
Above it all, the _Darkstar_ 's general alarm blared loudly. Raziel engaged manual control and slowed the _Darkstar_ down as far as she could go without being fully stopped. Bex ran down from the bridge to the shuttle bay and hurled herself into the pilot's seat of the _Darkstar_ 's cargo shuttle, sealing the cockpit.  
Raziel flicked a sequence of switches, and the shuttle detached itself from the black Firefly. Bex opened the throttle, sending the shuttle streaking ahead of the Firefly.

Alex slammed his hand down on the cargo bay's control panel, depressing a large red button. All the doors leading into the rest of the ship slammed shut and a rush of air marked the cargo bay depressurizing. The outer cargo door lowered down onto a view of open space. Eve hurled herself forward and shot through the open door. The Shepherdess swung downwards in relation to the ship, one of her axes biting into the edge of the cargo ramp. Eve used her momentum to soar down the length of the hull to where Southunder's signal flashed.  
Meanwhile, Sol fell through space, her breathing deafening in her ears. Stars blurred together, and no matter how she flailed, the mechanist couldn't stop the spinning.  
" _Someone help me!_ " she screamed over and over again. _"HELP!_ "  
Suddenly, a voice came on over Sol's radio. " _Keep holdin' on, Sol!_ " Raziel shouted in her ear. " _We're comin' to you!_ "

Southunder turned to see a pair of metal boots flying at his face. A second later, Eve's kick sent the big merc reeling. As she flew past, Eve swung a cord tipped with a magnet at the hull. The magnet stuck, and the Shepherdess was jerked to a halt. She faced down Southunder and brandished an axe.  
Southunder's feet remained rooted in place and his left arm didn't move, but his mechanical right arm rose in a mocking salute. Eve snarled and threw herself forward, axes raised.

In the shuttle, Bex loaded up the _Darkstar_ 's targeting system. A green dot flashed in the red scanner screen, showing Sol's spacesuit. Bex adjusted course and prepared to vent the shuttle's cargo space.  
Eve's axe strike ricocheted harmlessly off Southunder's armored limb, and the Shepherdess ground her teeth with frustration. Meanwhile, Raziel flooded Southunder's radio with his voice. " _Southunder! Talk to me! You better have a gorram good reason for this gou se!_ "  
" _Sorry. Experiment Forty-Three isn't available right now,_ " Southunder growled, in a voice that wasn't his own.  
On the bridge, Raziel's eyes widened. "Okay, that ain't good."

 _Song: Skrillex – "Goin' Hard"  
_ Sol spied a flash of blue in her spacesuit's visor and focused as much as she could while still spinning. A second later, the blue blur resolved itself into the shape of the _Darkstar_ 's cargo shuttle's engine trail. Bex's voice came on over Sol's radio. " _Can you hear me?_ "  
"I can hear you!" Sol shouted desperately, panic giving her voice an edge. "Help me!"  
" _Crouch into a ball_ ," Bex instructed. " _I'll catch you with the shuttle's cargo space. There's a net, so you won't get hurt._ "  
Sol drew in her arms and legs. Between spins, she watched the cargo shuttle draw level with her, cargo door gaping.

Eve ground her teeth as Southunder deflected yet another of her strikes. The stranger using Southunder's voice kept repeating the sinister message as the two spacers fought. _"Sorry. Experiment Forty-Three isn't available right now._ "  
Eve was suddenly blinded by a wave of information that spilled across her spacesuit's HUD, and deafened by Robert's triumphant shout in her ear. " _I found out how to kill the beacon! Stab the center with something sharp!"_  
Eve scanned the beacon, and a weak point showed up, flashing red. Eve grinned and mock-saluted Southunder with one of her axes, and primed the electric blade.

In the shuttle's cockpit, Bex cut the shuttle's main thrusters and swung the craft to the side. Sol's silhouette appeared in the cargo doorway, still spinning. A second later, the mechanic soared through the door and hit the cargo netting separating the cockpit from the hold. Bex slammed her hand down on the override button and the cargo doors _boom_ ed shut before Sol could bounce back out into space. Bex activated the shuttle's artificial gravity and swung the craft around to point back at her mothership.

Eve blocked a swing from Southunder's metal arm and slammed her boot against the hull. With no magnetic energy, the stomp sent Eve flying off the hull. She squinted and threw her grappler cord. The magnetic head caught onto Southunder's arm and the momentum carried Eve over the big merc in a fast arc, towards the beacon. Eve fell on top of the beacon, and her axe's sharpened handle pierced the top of the beacon's flashing light. The beacon shuddered and broke apart, detaching from the _Darkstar_ 's hull. Southunder instantly froze. Aside from his red mechanical eye blinking, the giant cyborg gave no indication he was alive at all.  
" _Bring him into the airlock_ ," Raziel instructed over the radio.  
Eve clipped Southunder to her spacesuit and began the slow walk back across the hull to the main airlock, dragging the unconscious merc behind her.

 _Author's Notes:  
I seem to have a thing for cliffhangers, don't I?  
I'll have another chapter ready soon, and I've also been working on another story idea. I'll post a preview chapter soon, so everyone can have a quick read, and if you all like it, I'll post more.  
Till then,  
-the Seacopath_


End file.
